Saints, Sinners, and Saviors
by GCatsPjs
Summary: Fifth in the Saint in the Shadows Saga.
1. Family First

**_The following fic is a continuation of the Saints in the Shadows saga. Fifth in the series, it is recommended that you read at least the first before this one, but it's not completely necessary. In order._**

**_1. Saint In the Shadows_**

**_2. Spaces In Between_**

**_3. Shades of Grace_**

**_4. Shadows in the Sun_**

**_The current chapter takes place approximately 3 and a half years since the last story. That would make Antonia 7 1/2, Parker 14 , and Gracie 3 1/2 ... November._**

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**_Saints, Sinners, and Saviors_**

Booth stood in the kitchen, his hand holding the spatula as he stirred the food in the frying pan. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the door open, and close and knew exactly who it was that had walked into the room. He continued to stir the potatoes in the pan, and started to whistle a tune as he waited, noticing as soon as the tiny fingers of two hands pressed into the counter of the island in the kitchen, followed by the top of a head, and two brilliant blue eyes. He smiled and pulled the pan from the burner, and turned his attention to the little eyes that were staring at him. He whistled again, and heard a small giggle as he stepped toward the little girl and leaned on the counter a bit. He whistled again, and she giggled. "Are you sneaking up on me?" He asked, his voice was soft and tender, and the little girl's head shook back and forth, a giggle lighting up her eyes. "If you're not sneaking up on me, then why are you all the way over there, and I'm all the way over here?"

She shrugged, dropping her hands from the counter, she turned and Booth watched as the little head bobbed its way around the counter. He was more than ready for the little girl, and crouched down for a hug, pulling her into his arms, he lifted her up and moved back to the stove to check on dinner. "Waiting for mama to get home, are we?" Booth asked, watching the little girl nod, she watched him stir the contents of the pan, as the door to the kitchen opened, and the brown haired girl that entered quickly narrowed her eyes the moment she saw Booth holding her sister.

"Gracie, you were supposed to come look for me." Antonia said as she crossed her arms over her chest. And she looked to her father. "We were playing hide and go seek." She said, watching Booth nod his head.

"Did you explain the rules to Gracie?" Booth asked.

"Seven BILLION times, daddy." Antonia said, holding her hands out as far as she could reach to indicate how serious she was.

"And you didn't go look for her?" Booth asked Gracie, and as soon as he asked, the corner of her lip curled into her mother's smile. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?" He asked, his eyebrows raised as she lifted her finger to his lips, her bright blue eyes widening to insist he kept her secret. Booth smiled brighter against his daughter's finger. "You let your sister hide, and then you took off!" Booth said as the little girl shook her head again, that smile still in place as he started to tickle her, she let out a mighty squeal as he moved across the kitchen and set her bottom on the counter as Antonia stomped around to face her sister.

"I am supposed to be babysitting you, Gracie. You can't just go running off like that. You could get hurt, or worse… you could get into my room!"

"And we all know how awful that would be…" Booth said, raising his eyebrows. "She'd probably get lost in all of your toys and we'd never be able to find her again. Tragic, really."

"Funny, Daddy… really funny." She glared.

Booth's phone buzzed from its spot on the counter behind Grace, and he reached it and smiled at the picture shown. It was a text from Temperance, so the photo showed one that he had taken years before. It was a photo of Temperance asleep on the couch, cradling both of the girls, as they all slept curled together on the couch. He showed it to Grace, whose eyebrows had raised at the sound, and instantly there was a smile on her face. "Who is that?" She asked.

"Mommy." Grace replied. "Mommy, and me, and Toni." She replied, watching Booth smile as he turned the phone back to himself.

"It's probably just mommy letting me know she's running a little late from the lab." He replied, pushing the button, his face must have shown his surprise, because Antonia recognized panic in his eyes.

"What is it, Daddy?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous. Booth looked to her and glanced to the stairs.

"Mommy will be home soon, dinner is almost ready. Go take Gracie and Deuce… run upstairs and get washed up for dinner. I'll call you guys down when mommy gets home."

The second he said 'Deuce', Antonia felt her heart jump into her throat. "Daddy?"

"Upstairs… no time for arguments." He said, nodding toward the stairs, he lifted Grace from the counter and kissed her cheek. "And make sure you wash with warm water… no just putting soap on your hands and telling me that you killed the germs, and that is that." He said, setting the little one to the floor, she giggled as she turned and grinned at her father, her blue eyes shining with her mother's mischievous gaze.

"Daddy…" Antonia said nervously.

"Everything is fine, I promise."

"You promise?"

"I super duper promise." He said, holding his fist out to his older daughter, she paused for a moment and eyed him carefully for a second, before bumping his with hers. She turned and took her sister's hand and looked back at him. "Go on…" he said, and with that, the two girls disappeared up the back stairs toward their bedroom.

As soon as he heard the door close, he glanced at the phone again, and the text on the screen.

**I think I'm being followed.**

He sent her a quick text to let her know that it was alright to come home, and walked quickly toward the front of the house. He turned the lights in the foyer off and peered through the curtain of the sidelight as he waited for the lights of Temperance's car to pull up the driveway. He watched as the lights drove slowly up the driveway, stopping at the end as if she were going to turn around, he watched as another car pulled up slowly behind, stopping in front of the house.

Booth could feel the panic rising in his chest as he heard movement upstairs. "Daddy?" He looked up to see Antonia standing at the top of the stairs.

"Your room, now." He said curtly.

"Daddy, you said you promised."

"Toni, don't argue. Keep your sister upstairs, and don't tell her anything." He said, watching her linger for another moment, he glanced out the window and saw the other car still sitting out in front of the house. It was too dark to see the occupant from where it was, but he watched Temperance turn her car off and sit for a moment.

Without pause, Booth glanced back upstairs to ensure that Antonia had done as she was told, he slipped his shoes on, and slipped out onto the porch, closing the door to the house firmly behind him.


	2. Sneak Peeks

Antonia walked back to her sister's room, and watched her from the doorway for a moment as she took a doll or two from the tiny doll crib in the corner. "Nee, do you want to play?"

The children's bedrooms were on the back side of the house, their windows facing the backyard, and Antonia heard her father's voice outside, she started a bit. "Uh… yeah, why don't we go play in mommy and daddy's room." She replied, looking across the hallway to their parent's room, she saw the lights from cars reflected through the curtains and looked back to her sister. "Okay?"

"Why?"

"Mommy's bed is bigger… we can put more dolls on it." She replied, trying to come up with some reason to get her little sister into the room without alerting her that she was anxious. "Come on." She said, moving across the room, she pulled the dolls from her sister's arms and nodded toward the room across the hall. Grace followed after her happily, and skipped across the hallway to their parent's bedroom. Grace crawled up onto the bed, and Antonia set the dolls on the bed too.

"I think they need to be changed…" Antonia said, raising her eyebrows, scrunching her face as she pretended that the dolls were smelly.

"Oh no." Grace frowned, happily taking the dolls from Antonia, she watched her sister move to the window. "Where are you going?"

"Just looking outside… make sure you change their diapers good." Antonia said, distracting her sister for another few minutes as she looked out the window.

Her father was standing in front of the house, walking toward the driveway slowly, and there was a car sitting in the front of the house, lights on as Booth approached her mother's car which was parked oddly at the end of the driveway. The car at the front of the house was then turned off, lights going dark and a man climbed clumsily from it, and though Antonia couldn't hear what he was saying, he appeared to be shouting at her father, stumbling on the lawn. Temperance was still in her car, a phone pressed against her ear, as suddenly, the man came at Booth. Antonia gasped as he tumbled forward, shouting something angrily, but all he did was wrap his arms around her father, stumbling them backwards awkwardly.

"What you doing?" Grace's voice made Antonia jump, turning to see her sister beside her, Antonia flushed with embarassment.

"Just watching daddy."

"Why is daddy outside?" Grace asked, moving toward the window, she peered out as well. "Mommy is home!" She smiled, seeing the car in the driveway, it appeared she hadn't even noticed the other two people outside. Her only concern was Temperance. "Mommy." She smiled, moving from the window, she started to run for the door.

"No! Gracie, stop!" Antonia exclaimed, running toward her sister, she tackled the girl to the floor, sending her tumbling, her chin hit the ground and she began to cry. Antonia held onto her as she struggled, listening to her little sister's screams.

"Let go! I want mommy! Let go!"

"Stop! We can't go downstairs!" Antonia exclaimed.

"Mommy!" Gracie screeched at the top of her lungs. "MOMMY!"

"Gracie! Stop! Gracie!" Antonia exclaimed. "Gracie! Please! Trust me! Please trust me!"

"No! I want mommy! Mommy!" She exclaimed, resigning herself to sobbing as Antonia moved off her sister, and held her in her arms. "You hurt me." She sobbed.

"I'm sorry." Antonia replied, rocking her sister. "Daddy wants us to stay upstairs, we have to stay upstairs."

Grace sniffled and whimpered. "Mommy is outside though… mommy…"

"I know, and she'll come in the house soon, but we have to stay here. Daddy said so." Antonia said, looking at her sister's chin. "I'm sorry I hurt you."

The big tears on Grace's cheeks rolled down, as her crystal blue eyes peered into her sister's. "It hurts."

"I know… I know…" Antonia said, kissing the bit of rug burn her sister had gotten from her bump with the carpet. "All better?"

"No." Grace grumbled, as she started to stand up. She glared at her sister and moved toward the window. "Only mommy's kisses works."

"I know…" Antonia said, scrambling to her feet, she followed her sister, unwilling to upset her further by telling her she can't go to the window, they both walked to the sill and stared out into the front yard.

Temperance was now out of the car, the man that had once been hugging her father was sitting on the grass, his knees drawn up, he appeared to be crying or something as Booth stood beside him, crouched. Temperance was standing by the car on the phone, and she placed the phone in her pocket.

"Who is that man?" Grace asked.

"I don't know."

"He looks sad."

"Yeah." Antonia whispered, her eyes flickering to the man's car, and back to her father and the man, then to her mother. When they looked back at Booth, they noticed that he was looking directly up at them, and he did not look happy. Antonia ducked out of the window and gasped, and Gracie did the same, unsure of why her sister was doing it.

"Why are we hiding?" She asked, after a few moments of pause.

"Because daddy saw us."

"Are we playing hide and go seek?"

Antonia glanced to her sister's big frightened eyes, and swallowed hard. "Yeah."

Suddenly, they heard the door downstairs close, and Temperance's voice from downstairs, calling to them. "Mommy found us." Grace smiled.

"Mommy is the best finder in the world." Antonia said as she got up and glanced out the window one more time, before taking her sister's hand, and together they walked to greet their mother.

The girls walked out of the room, in time to hear Temperance again call to them. "Toni, Gracie?" She called.

"Mommy, mommy!" Gracie exclaimed as she pounded down the stairs quickly, her tiny feet moving faster than her body could keep up with, she nearly tumbled when she reached the bottom of the stairs, running toward her mother as she stood, still in her trench coat, ready to lift her baby girl into her arms.

Antonia came down the steps a bit more nervously, rounding the corner as Temperance fussed with the red mark on Grace's chin. "What happened, baby girl?" Temperance asked, holding her daughter tenderly as she lifted her chin.

"Nee pushed me down." She mumbled, her tiny lip sticking out in typical drama queen fashion, as tears began to roll down her cheeks. If anyone would feel bad for her plight, it was her mommy.

Temperance's eyes met with Antonia's and there was a moment of pause. Antonia, however was more concerned with why her father wasn't in the house. "Where is daddy?"

"He's just outside, he'll be in, in just a moment… did you get washed up for dinner?" Temperance asked, still standing face to face with Antonia, as Gracie clung to her mother tightly.

"Who is that man outside with daddy?" She asked darkly.

"That isn't any of your concern, baby. Daddy is just fine…" Temperance said, noting that Antonia wasn't pleased with that answer. "Did you wash up for dinner?" 

"I'm not hungry." Antonia mumbled, quite upset that she was getting nothing from her mother as far as answers. "Where is daddy?"

"Go upstairs and wash up." Temperance said, carefully setting Gracie to the floor, the little girl clung to her mother for another moment. "It's okay, baby girl…" She said, peeling her daughter's fingers from her coat, she crouched down. "Toni is going to take you up to wash your hands… please be a good girl and do as you are told."

"I missed you." She whimpered.

"And I missed you…" Temperance said, giving the little one a tiny poke on her nose. "Let me see that chin, so I can make it all better." She said, kissing her little girl's chin, she smiled at Grace's pleased expression, and looked to her older daughter, who was not impressed with the situation at all. "Please take her upstairs."

"I would just like to say that I think this is stupid."

"While your opinion is appreciated, it has no value in this argument." Temperance said as she stood up and walked to Antonia. "Upstairs." She said, leaning forward, she kissed her daughter's head. "Please."

"Okay." Antonia sighed, taking her sister's hand, she tugged a little. "Come on, Gracie. We don't want germs getting in our dinner."

"Icky." Grace said, watching her mother for a moment as Temperance made a funny face, the little girl smiled.

"Thank you." Temperance said, as the two girls walked back up the stairs.

"I love you, Mommy." Antonia said, glancing to her mother as they walked up the stairs.

"I love you too, baby." She smiled slightly, as the two girls disappeared back up the stairs, and Temperance now moved to the sidelight, looking out the curtain to her husband, who was dealing with their unexpected guest.


	3. Willful Battle

Antonia stood in the hallway upstairs just out of sight, her sister was in their shared bathroom, standing on a little stepstool singing and splashing in the water of the sink. Antonia listened for her parents, and heard nothing for several moments, and walked across the hallway to her parent's room. She watched out the window for a moment or two as Booth helped the man from the front lawn into a taxi. Her eyes flicked to the car of the man, and something caught her attention. She stared at it for several moments, until Grace came running out of the bathroom, water dripping from her hands, and found her sister.

"Nee! Nee… I'm all done." She smiled.

"Didn't you dry your hands?"

"Nope." She smiled at her big sister, and watched her roll her eyes, following her back into the bathroom. She pulled a towel from the towel rack and handed it to her little sister, who brushed at them quickly and tossed the towel at Antonia, before running out of the bathroom toward the hall. She stopped when the door slammed downstairs.

"Antonia!" Booth called, his voice was rattled, not happy in the least. "Antonia, get down here!" He exclaimed.

Antonia stopped, swallowing hard, she glanced to her little sister whose eyes were wide as she stared at her. She didn't take another step, not wanting to walk downstairs to their father's obviously angry voice. They heard Temperance's voice, probably trying to calm him, and Grace and Antonia listened for another moment. "Daddy is calling you." Grace whispered.

"I know." She whispered back. "I know, I heard him."

"Antonia, get down here!" Booth called, sounding slightly more agitated than a moment before.

Antonia tiptoed toward the top of the stairs and looked down, taking one step at a time as she turned toward the front door and stopped on the steps. Her father was standing by the door, his hand on the doorknob. She thought for a split second, if she pretended nothing was wrong, that he'd just forget the anger in his eyes, but she knew better. "I told you to take your sister upstairs."

"I did." She said, walking slowly to the bottom of the stairs.

"You know the rule, Toni." Booth said, stepping forward.

"Booth, she's just…"

"She knows the rule, Bones. What's the rule, Antonia?"

"Daddy, I…"

"Antonia." Booth replied.

"Daddy, I think that…"

"Antonia Elyse. The rule."

Antonia sighed, rolling her eyes. "When daddy says Deuce… go upstairs with Gracie and wait."

"The rest of the rule?"

"Stay in my room, close the door… no windows." She said, watching her father's eyes. "Daddy, who was that man?"

"Why were you standing in my bedroom with your sister at the window?" He said, ignoring her question.

"Daddy, I think that you should know first, that the man downstairs… He…"

"Don't try to talk your way out of this with me, young lady!"

"Booth." Temperance said, trying to reel in his anger as she touched his arm, he turned to look at her. "Did you get everything taken care of?"

"I sent him to the hotel in the cab that you called for." He said, giving her a grateful smile. "I just… he was in shock, and drunk… I didn't want to bring him in with the girls here." He said, watching Temperance nod.

"Who?" Antonia asked.

"That's not any of your concern." Booth said angrily. "You need to learn how to listen, Antonia. I need you to be safe, and when you do something to defy me after we've discussed this time and time again."

"Daddy!" She shouted.

"Don't raise your voice at me. Get into the dining room and set the table."

"No." She said, with a glare.

"Excuse me?"

"I don't like being yelled at either! " She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mommy?" Gracie said from upstairs.

Everyone quieted down, the glare between Antonia and Booth was met second by second as they continued their fight for control.

"Come down for dinner, Squeaker." Booth said, not taking his eyes off Antonia until he saw his little girl come down the stairs slowly. Her daddy didn't sound angry with her, but she was careful regardless. She stepped down one at a time, holding tightly to her favorite stuffed mouse. "Daddy's not mad at you." He said, watching Antonia's eyes narrow even more. "We're not done with our conversation." Booth said, pointing his finger at his older daughter.

"Yes you are." Temperance said, giving Antonia a nod to let her know that her dad may be overreacting, and that she had him under control, Temperance put her hand on Booth's shoulder. "Go make sure dinner is ready… I'll talk with Antonia."

"Bones…"

"Please, Booth." She said, watching his jaw clench slightly. He smiled when Gracie reached for his hand.

"Come on, Daddy…" She said, pulling at him. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a moose!"

"A moose? That's preposterous!" He said, listening to the little girl's giggle, he smiled as he glanced back to Antonia, who scowled back at him.

"Fine! Go! I'll tell Mommy about the baby that the man you were talking to left in his car!" Antonia shouted, stepping forward quickly, she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist and buried her face in her mother as Booth stopped in his tracks and turned around.

"What?"

"Booth, go in the other room." Temperance said, holding Antonia tightly, he just watched the scene before them.

"Moose, Daddy… Moose!" Grace exclaimed, pulling at her daddy's arm.

"What is she talking about?" Booth asked, glancing to Grace as he looked to Bones. "Antonia?"

"Booth, just go into the other room and feed Gracie. I'll talk to Toni." Temperance said, the look on her face was serious, and he tipped his head to suggest he was not going to go without a fight, but in the end, it was Gracie that won.

"Daddy! I'm so, so hungry!" She exclaimed with a mighty whine. Booth turned and swung her into his arms.

"Hungry? You're crazy!" Booth said with a nervous laugh, glancing to Temperance, she nodded again toward the dining room, and it was just another moment, and he was in the kitchen with Grace.

Temperance held her older daughter for a moment, and gave her a tender kiss on top of her head. "Alright… no more tears…" She whispered.

"Daddy never listens anymore." She sniffled.

"Daddy is trying to protect you and your sister." Temperance whispered. "He loves you, he wants to keep you safe." She said, crouching down. "You can't blame him for being grumpy once in a while if you don't listen to him. Trust me, I know… I've gotten myself into a lot of situations where I would have been better off if I listened to your daddy. He's very good at what he does."

"I was scared." Antonia whispered.

"I know, and that's alright… but Daddy needs you to be safe. When you're not, it makes him scared." Temperance said, smoothing her daughter's hair back, she tucked it behind her ear.

"Daddy is never scared." She said seriously.

"That is not entirely true." Temperance replied. "Now what was this nonsense about a baby?"

"Oh!" Antonia exclaimed. "There's a baby in that man's car." She said, stepping back.

Temperance gave her daughter a slightly incredulous look, waiting for further explanation. "And why would you say that?"

"Just come outside… I'll show you." She said, taking her mother's hand. Temperance didn't ask questions, just followed her daughter to the door. She pulled the door open and they stepped out onto the porch. Antonia was barefoot, so she stopped, pointing to the car at the edge of the yard. "Remember when Gracie was a baby, and you put one of those things in the window to keep the sun from shining in her eyes?" Antonia asked.

"The sun shade, yes." Temperance said, looking across at the car.

"That car has one, see." She said, pointing at the car. "Does that mean there's a baby in there?"

Temperance stared at the car for a second, her eyes flickering back to the dining room door and then to the car. "Stay right there." She said, walking out onto the lawn. She glanced back at her daughter for a moment, and nodded as she stepped across the lawn toward the car.

Antonia watched her mother walk toward the car cautiously, walking across the grass as she made her way to the car. Temperance peered through the glass, putting her hands against it for a moment as she pressed her face against the window carefully, looking into the car. Antonia watched her mother stand up straight, her mouth slightly agape with surprise, and their eyes met. "Antonia, get your daddy for me, please." She said. "Tell him… just tell him that I need to talk to him." She said, watching her daughter nod and turn, running into the house, leaving the door wide open as Brennan waited for her husband to join her outside, so she could tell him the news of her discovery.


	4. Key to Survival

Temperance stood beside the car, peering in around the window shade at the cargo in the back seat of the car, when Booth walked from the house slowly. He stepped cautiously across the grass, his eyes reflecting genuine concern as he looked back to the house and saw his daughters standing in the doorway. He raised his eyebrows and they closed the door, moving quickly to the window.

Booth stepped toward the car and his wife, his eyes strictly on hers. "Please tell me there's not a body in the back seat of his car."

"Yes, and… no." She replied.

"Bones, specificity, please. I never thought I'd have to say that."

"It appears that your brother left something behind." She said, glancing back into the car and then back to Booth.

"What?" Booth asked, walking past her as she stepped back, he pushed his face up against the window. "Jesus… Bones, that's a kid!"

"Yes, Booth, a sleeping kid…" She said, pulling his arm. "Unless you startle him." She whispered, glancing to the house, she could see her two little girls sitting in the window.

"He was drunk out of his mind when he got here." Booth said as he looked into the driver's seat, there were cans of beer strewn on the seat and the floor. "He had a kid in his back seat, and he was drinking… and driving, and… how do we even know it's his kid?" Booth said as he started to pace slightly, touching his forehead with his hand.

"I can't really see him well, but the shape of his face… it's very probable that he's your brother's child."

"How old do you think he is? Three? Four?"

"Booth, instead of standing here and speculating, perhaps we should make an effort of finding your brother and getting an explanation as to why he has a child in his car that he just left behind. In the meantime, we should probably wake him up and get him into the house. It's not wise to leave him out here in the cold car any longer." She said, reaching for the door handle.

"Wait." Booth said, touching her hand, she eyed him curiously. "You're right, he's going to freak out."

"What do you mean?"

"Two adults rousing the poor kid out of a sound sleep. He's going to freak out." Booth said, noticing the movement in the car, they exchanged a look. The little boy rubbed his eyes sleepily, and his mouth opened in a mighty yawn as he turned his head to see the two adults standing outside the car, looking in at him. Through his sleepy haze, he unbuckled his seatbelt, panicking as he reached across and hit the button on the door, locking all of the doors in the car. "Though we probably should have opened the door before he did that." Booth muttered.

"This is not good." Brennan said, watching Booth staring in at the little boy, whose brown eyes were as frightened as ever as he stared up at the two strangers outside the car.

"What do we do now?" Booth whispered, looking at the little boy, as tears began to roll down his cheeks. "Bones, he's getting upset."

Temperance turned and tapped on the window. "Hello?"

"Bones… really? Hello?"

"Can you think of something better to say?"

"How about… 'unlock the door'…" Booth replied, watching her eyes narrow at him, she turned and tapped on the window.

"My name is Temperance, what's yours?"

"Daddy!" The little boy exclaimed, sobbing loudly, his eyes closed as tears rolled down his cheeks.

"See, Bones… you scared him."

"I didn't scare him, you scared him. You're a very large man, you can be very intimidating to small children."

"I'm not intimidating! I'm not intimidating, Bones!"

She gave him a pointed glance and looked back to the car, tapping at the window. "Sweetheart… it's okay, we're not going to hurt you… please stop crying. We need to find a way into the car." She said, watching Booth as he looked at her. "Perhaps we could pry the door open."

"Yeah, that wouldn't scare the crap out of him."

"We could always call the police and have them open the door. Don't you know some kind of lock picking technique they taught you at the Bureau, or for the secret service?"

"The secret service doesn't unlock doors, they have all of the keys." Booth grumbled.

"Why don't you use the keys?" Antonia asked, standing in the middle of the lawn, she held up a set of keys to both of her shocked parents.

"What are you doing outside?" Booth asked.

"The man that was here. He dropped these in the grass. I saw them there when mommy went to the car before."

Booth stalked to his daughter and she handed him the keys. "Get in the house, please." He said, turning around, he walked back toward the car. "See, got the keys." He smiled. "And you wanted to pry the door open."

She shook her head as he walked to the car, and unlocked the door. Antonia stood several feet behind them, watching her parents try to convince the little boy to calm down. She stepped slowly toward them, her mother crouched by the side of the car as the boy screamed and cried, swinging his hands at them as they tried to unbuckle him, as they tried to console him. Neither adult noticed her standing there, and the boy sobbed so loudly, it was making her feel a little upset. Her mother was using that soft tone she often did when she was upset, and her father was trying his best to remain calm, but Antonia could see that he was becoming more agitated as time went on.

She slowly walked around the car without her parents seeing her, into the street and pulled at the handle on the back seat. Her parents both looked up when the door opened, and she climbed into the seat beside the little boy.

"Antonia, I told you to get back in…" Booth was interrupted by Temperance touching his hand.

"Hey." Antonia said, trying to get the little boy's attention. "Hey…" She said, putting her arm on the little boy's shoulder, she pulled him close to her. She didn't know what to expect from this strange little boy, but was happy when he buried his face in her neck and continued to cry. "Hey, it's okay…" She said softly, rubbing his arm as she watched her mother reach for the seatbelt. "Hey… don't cry… you don't have to cry…" She whispered softly. "It's okay."

"I want to go home." He sobbed into her.

"I know." She said softly, holding the little boy, she watched Temperance unbuckle the seatbelt. "This is my mommy… and that's my daddy. We want to help you get home." She said softly.

"I want my mommy. I want my daddy." He cried.

"It's okay. I know… don't worry though… Mommy and Daddy are really awesome. They help find people all the time… that's what their job is." She said, watching as he sniffled, looking up at her. "I promise, we'll help find your mommy and daddy." She said softly.

"Sweetheart?" Temperance said, watching the little boy turn his head toward her. "Why don't you come inside…"

The little boy looked to her and didn't say a word, just glanced to Antonia, who nodded softly. "Will you come inside? We're gonna have dinner, Daddy makes a good dinner."

The little boy nodded, and grasped Antonia's hand, who opened the door of the car with her other hand and slipped out, watching the little boy slide toward her, she helped him from the car slowly and they walked around the car. She held his hand and they walked toward the house together, Booth and Temperance right behind them.

"My name is Antonia." She said softly to the little boy. "What's yours?"

"Seeley." He whispered.

Antonia giggled as they neared the porch. "Seeley? That's not a real name… that's a sound." She giggled, stepping up the porch stairs with the little boy's hand in hers, completely missing the exchanged glances of her parents behind them.


	5. The Hunt Begins

When they stepped into the house, Booth looked around immediately and stopped, Temperance nearly ran into him as he looked around. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Toni, where did you leave your sister?" Booth asked.

"Right here." Antonia said, turning as she held the little boy's hand. "Gracie?" She called, waiting for a moment, she looked to her father, who looked just slightly panicked. "Gracie?" Antonia called again.

Booth and Temperance exchanged a look. "Grace?" Temperance said, walking through the house quickly, she stepped into the kitchen and looked around. "She's not in the kitchen." Temperance called, and by the time she had finished her sentence, Booth was already halfway upstairs, calling to the little girl.

"Squeaker?" Booth called, walking to each bedroom, he could feel the panic rising in his stomach. "Squeaker, are you up here?" He said as he rounded the corner, and immediately noticed the light in his bedroom closet was on. "Squeaker, its daddy." He said, opening the closet door, the little girl jumped up and raised her arms up into the air.

"Surprise!" She exclaimed, giggling happily, she didn't see the look of terror on her father's face disappear as he scooped her up into his arms. "Did I scare you, daddy?" She asked with a happy smile as Booth started to carry her out of the room.

"You have no idea, pumpkin." He mumbled as he started down the stairs. "Found her!" Booth said, rounding the corner, he could see that Temperance wasn't quite as forgiving for this particular incident, and Booth quickly handed the little girl over as he stood near the kitchen door and glanced in at Antonia and Seeley, who were waiting just in the doorway. "Alright… let's get right to finding that daddy of yours." He said, watching the little boy glance to Antonia and back at Booth. He looked at Temperance for a second, her eyes on him as she bounced her daughter slightly and gave Booth a nod. "Bones… can I have your phone? I'll call the taxi company." He said, watching her nod as she pulled the phone out of her pocket and tossed it toward him. "Thanks." He smiled, disappearing into the kitchen with the other two kids.

Temperance paced a bit with Grace in her arms, thinking about everything that had happened that evening. Her stomach was growling angrily, though the panic she had felt when Grace was 'missing' was enough to make her lose her appetite. "Mommy, are you okay?" Grace asked, watching Temperance's concentration as she turned and looked her baby girl in the eyes. Grace could sense the tenseness in her mother's arms, and see the anxiety on her face.

"I am okay." She said, nodding her head solemnly, she watched the little girl's brow furrow. "You look sad."

"I thought I lost you." She said, watching those blue eyes widen. "We couldn't find you." She said.

"I was playing hide and go seek." She replied, tipping her head. "Nee said it's a fun game."

"It's not fun for mommy and daddy." She shook her head, sitting down on the couch, she pulled the little girl into her arms and hugged her close. Grace snuggled with her mother, confused at her words, she waited a moment.

"Why isn't it fun?"

"Because we didn't know where you were, little one. That is very, very scary."

"Daddy found me." She shrugged.

"Yes… but what if we couldn't find you?" She asked. "You didn't think of that. You could have been stuck wherever you were for a long time, and mommy and daddy wouldn't know where to look."

"Oh." She said thoughtfully, working her mother's words through her head, she cuddled with her. "I think I would have had to go potty at some point, Mommy." She said, watching Temperance's brow furrow. "What?"

"Nothing." She replied. "How about we don't play that game anymore, okay? It would make mommy feel a whole lot better."

Grace watched Temperance's face for a long moment, seemingly trying to gauge the seriousness of the matter. "Can I ask daddy?"

"I'm fairly certain that daddy will have the same opinion that mommy has on the matter, but you may ask him his thoughts if you would like." She said, watching the little girl watch her mother for another moment. The door to the kitchen opened, and Booth stepped out holding the phone in his hand.

"Daddy, can I keep playing hide and go seek?" She asked.

"No." He stated plainly as he held up the phone. "Cab driver says he dropped Jared off six blocks from here and he disappeared down an alley. He didn't even make it to the hotel."

"Six blocks?" Temperance said, standing up still holding Grace. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go look for him." He said, walking toward the door. "There is no way that he's going to get away with driving drunk with his kid in the car. No way!"

"What about abandoning his son?" Temperance said, watching Booth pull his coat onto his shoulders.

"He trusted enough to know that we would take him in, I'm not going to fault him for that. But driving drunk with his kid in the car? He'll be lucky if I don't pound him into the ground when I find him." Booth paused as he opened the door, looking back to Temperance. "They're eating in there… you'll be okay?"

"I'm hungry too!" Grace exclaimed.

"Just go, Booth." She replied. "Before he gets much farther away. I will feed the children, and make sure that he is well taken care of."

"Okay." Booth said. "I love you."

"I love you too." She said, watching him disappear out the door without another word, the door closing behind him, as she carried Grace toward the dining room.

She stepped into the room to see Seeley sitting beside Antonia, his fork poking at the potatoes on the plate as he looked up at Temperance walking into the room with Grace. His eyes widened in obvious fear, but he said nothing.

"Hello, Seeley." She said with a kind smile, her voice even and soft, the boy seemed to relax, but his eyes still remained wary. Grace held tightly to her mother, now finally seeing the little boy, she held tightly. "Seeley, this is Gracie… Gracie, this is Seeley." She said, trying to lift the little girl to the floor, she continued to hold her mother tightly. "Sweetie, you have to let go of mommy." Temperance said, listening to the little girl whimpering in her ear. Instead of fighting, she just held her close. "You'll have to forgive her, she's quite shy."

"She's just mad because he's sitting in her chair." Antonia replied as Temperance glanced back at her daughter as she arranged a plate with potatoes and vegetables for Grace, and sat down at the table with the other two children, settling Grace on her lap.

The little boy stared at his plate, poking at the food as he popped a piece in his mouth and munched on it slowly. He was very quiet, but his brown eyes were quite innocent, and his brown hair was cut short and neat. His clothes looked a bit soiled, as if he had been wearing them for a day or two, and Temperance noticed that it looked like he hadn't had a bath for a few days. "Seeley?" She said softly, the boy's eyes lifted to her and she smiled politely at him. "You've got nothing to worry about here, okay?" She said, watching the boy nod his head, he continued his focus on the food.

Grace sat on her mother's lap, carefully lifting the food into her mouth, she was staring at the boy across the table. The entire evening had been nerve wracking and a bit unsettling for her, but as long as her mother held her in her arms, she felt safe. There were only two other people that made her feel as safe, and one had left in quite a hurry. Suddenly, there was a slam of a door in the house, and the sound of feet pounding. Grace looked up and dropped her fork, her eyes widening as she looked up at her mother.

"Bones? Dad?" Parker's voice rang through the house. "I'm home." He said, as suddenly Grace scrambled to her feet, not noticing or caring about the look of surprise on the little boy across the table.

"Parker! Parker!" Grace squealed as she ran from the kitchen quickly.

Temperance set her hand on the table and smiled at the boy. "That's my son Parker." She whispered, glancing to Antonia. "I will be right back." She said with a smile, as she stood up and headed toward the living room after Gracie, to apprise Parker of the situation, before bringing him into the room.


	6. Fear, Another Four Letter Word

Temperance stepped into the living room, finding Parker standing with Gracie firmly attached to her leg as he let out a slight laugh at the girl. "What is up with you, Squeaker?" Parker said as he looked up to Temperance, seeing the look of concern in her eyes. "Hey, what's going on?"

"There is a boy sitting in my chair." Grace said, looking up at her big brother. "Tell him, Mommy." She said, noting that Parker hadn't taken his eyes off Temperance. "Where is dad?"

Temperance smiled slightly, seeing the concern in the boy's eyes, she could see a sense of relief at her facial expression as Grace continued to hold him tightly. "You haven't seen your Uncle Jared in quite a while, have you?" She asked.

"Uncle Jared?" Parker's face scrunched in confusion. "No. Not for a real long time… like before Dad was gone."

"Well, he stopped for a visit." Temperance said.

"Really?" Parker asked, his face showing interest, and perhaps a bit of excitement, until he saw the look on Temperance's face change a bit. "Was he okay? Is he here now?"

"I think it'll be a little easier to explain in the kitchen." She said, nodding toward the door, Parker looked confused, but followed regardless, his little sister's hand firmly planted in his hand. When they stepped into the dining room, Parker stopped, and Grace pointed at the little boy looking over at them. "Parker, this is your uncle's son, Seeley." Temperance said, watching the boy turn her attention toward Temperance, he looked quite surprised.

"See, Parker. That boy is in my chair." She pointed, tugging her brother's hand, he held her hand a bit tighter.

"Where is Uncle Jared?" Parker asked.

"Who is Uncle Jared?" Antonia asked in response.

"That's where your Dad went… he left Seeley here with us, and disappeared. Your father went to find him."

Parker looked at the fear in the little boy's eyes and smiled politely at him. "I'm Parker." He said to the little boy, who was watching nervously. "Are you a little scared?" He asked, watching the boy nod, and glance to Antonia.

"Parker is pretty cool." Antonia said, patting the boy's hand.

"Did you have something to eat at Billy's house?" Temperance asked, watching Parker shake his head, he walked to the cupboard to get a plate, with Grace walking very closely behind him. "Gracie, come sit with mommy." She said, watching Parker turn and nearly run into the little girl, she looked up at him.

"She's fine." Parker said as he walked with her toward the food, and scooped some into his plate, he turned toward the table, and Grace grabbed his hand, holding it tightly with both of hers. Parker placed his plate on the table and pulled his chair out, allowing his sister to climb up into his lap as she stared across the table at the little boy. Parker watched him as he took a bite, giving him a friendly smile as he slowly took a bite of his food. "So your name is Seeley, huh?" Parker asked, watching the little boy nod his head. "That's my dad's name."

Seeley watched Parker and smiled a little, feeling a bit more comfortable in the company of this family, he watched the older boy. Grace tapped her brother's hand and watched him look down to her. "Daddy's name is not that. Daddy's name is Daddy." She said, glancing to the boy.

"No." Antonia interrupted. "Daddy's name is Booth." She said resolutely, her hand on the table, looking to Temperance, who sat down at the table with the children. "Right, Mommy? That's what you call him."

"That's his last name, Toni." Parker explained. "Like your last name… Bones calls Dad by his last name. You don't think her name is Bones, do you?"

"I don't know." Antonia explained.

"I am Gracie Booth." Grace said, looking to the little boy.

"That's right." Parker said, bouncing his knee, the little girl giggled. "And this is Seeley… Booth?" He asked, watching the little boy nod his head. "He's named after Dad."

"Daddy's name is Daddy." Grace repeated.

"It appears that we have introductions completed. I think it is bath time." Temperance said as Grace looked to her mother. "Why don't we let Parker and Seeley talk a little, and you two can come upstairs for your bath."

"I already washed my hands, Mommy." Grace said, holding up her hands to her mother, Temperance shook her head as she stood up.

"Well that's all good for dinner time… I don't think you cleaned those little feet of yours for dinner." She said, lifting the girl from Parker's lap. "Parker, will you be okay down here with Seeley?"

"Yeah." He said with a smile. "We're cool, right?" He asked, glancing to the little boy's confused expression. "We'll be okay, Bones." He said with a smile, as Temperance nodded toward Antonia, who got up from her chair.

Seeley seemed to panic a little at Antonia's movement, and she moved around the table, watching the little boy begin to whimper a bit. "I'll be right back, Seeley. I just have to go up and get ready for bed, okay?" She said, watching the little boy seem to get upset. "I promise… I'll be right back, right, mama?"

"That is correct. Parker will be right here, and if you need something, you know where I'll be." She said, glancing to Parker, who nodded knowingly as Antonia walked ahead of Temperance, as the three of them left the room together.

Parker ate his dinner and watched the little boy across from him, staring warily at the older boy. "Are you okay?" Parker asked, watching the boy nod his head. "Dad makes a pretty good dinner, huh?" He asked, watching Seeley shrug.

Parker heard the front door open, and turned around, glancing to the door when he heard his father's voice. "Looks like Dad is…" Parker said as he turned toward Seeley again, only to notice the boy running quickly up the stairs. "Hey… hey, wait!" Parker said, jumping from his chair.

Booth was just stepping into the house and called for Temperance, when he heard someone in the kitchen running up the back stairs. Quickly, he walked into the kitchen, only to hear the screaming shouts of his girls upstairs. Without thought or pause, he ran up the stairs toward the screaming, only nervous because he had no idea what was going on. His mind conjured up several scenarios before he came across a scene that would have been funny if it weren't for the incredibly frightened little boy standing in the bathtub full of warm water with his clothes on. It would have been funny if it weren't for his two little girls screaming in fear of the little boy, half dressed and incredibly disturbed by his actions.

He said nothing to Temperance as he walked past Parker, who was obviously in pursuit, and his two girls, who were pushed against their mother in fear, as he stepped across the soaked bathroom floor and lifted the wet boy from the tub. He grabbed a towel from the towel rack, just as the boy let out a loud, screeching cry. He glanced to Temperance, and she nodded, though she seemed shaken by the surprise of the boy barging into the bathroom.

Booth brought him toward his own bedroom, setting him on his feet on the tile floor of the other bathroom. Booth could feel the boy gripping him as he crouched down. He refused to let go. "It's alright, bub… it's alright." Booth said, holding the little boy. "It's okay, you're someplace very safe. I promise it's very safe here." He whispered. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, its okay." He said, noticing Parker standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry." Parker whispered.

"Hey… you did a good job." Booth whispered.

The little boy continued to cry into Booth's shoulder, gripping him tightly as he cried. Booth's words seemed to calm him a bit, but the sadness didn't appear to be disappearing anytime soon. "It's alright, buddy… it's alright." He whispered as he tried to dry him a little, his pants and shoes soaked, his body shivering in both fear and cold. "Parker, can you get me an old sweatshirt of yours, see if you have some old sweatpants we can let him borrow."

"They're going to be huge on him." Parker said as he watched his father's head shake. "I'll be right back." He said as Booth nodded.

"Alright, big man…" Booth said, sitting on the closed toilet seat as he pried the little boy's fingers from his shirt. "Alright…" He whispered. "Look at me." He said, getting the boy's attention. He watched as big tears rolled down his cheek. "It's okay." He whispered. "You alright?" He whispered, watching the boy nod his head. "Let's start with an easy question, okay?" he asked, watching the little boy nod his head. "How old are you?"

He paused for a moment as he watched Booth's kind eyes looking back at him. "Five." He whispered.

"Five? Wow… five years old…" He said, watching the boy sniffle as he tried to keep from crying, his hand still holding tightly to Booth's arm.

Parker ran into the room, and the boy lunged forward into Booth, holding him tightly, as Parker rounded the corner. "Hey… take it easy, Parker…"

"Sorry. I was just hurrying." He said, seeing the grateful nod his father gave him. "Anything else?"

"Just go knock on the bathroom door, make sure the girls are okay for me?"

"Okay." He said, watching the boy tremble against his father. "Dad will take really good care of you, Seeley." Parker said, glancing to Booth. "Did you find Uncle Jared?" Parker asked, watching Booth shake his head, he took a step back. "I'll go check on Bones."

"Thank you." Booth said, holding the boy against him, he felt him grip him even tighter, as he listened to Parker run from the room and into the hallway.


	7. You Have To Start Somewhere

Booth helped the boy bathe in the other bathroom, made sure that he was cleaned up, his hair washed, and checked him over for bumps and bruises as he held eye contact with the boy the entire time. When he was wrapped up in the towel, Booth took the smaller towel and rubbed the boy's head playfully, and smiled when he heard a playful giggle emitted from the little boy's lips. "That's a good boy." Booth laughed as he hugged the boy closely, knowing that right now, that's what he needed as he felt him cling to his shirt. "Do you feel better now?" Booth asked, feeling the boy's head nod, he glanced to the clothes that Parker had brought them.

Booth pulled the towel off the boy's head and quickly pulled the sweatshirt over him, laughing lightly as he attempted to pull his arms through the sleeves, he stood in front of Booth with his hands outstretched, with a good amount of the sleeves hanging over his hands. "We're going to have to do something about clothes, aren't we, little man?" He laughed as he helped him pull on the sweatpants, which were also entirely too long for the boy's small legs. "It'd be easier if I had little boys, but little girl clothes just won't do." He said as Seeley glanced toward the door and back to Booth. "I bet you're wondering if I found your daddy or not." He said, watching the inquisitive look on the boy's face, staring directly into his eyes.

"The answer to that is… not yet." He said, lifting the boy up with a resounding grunt as he helped pull the sleeves up on the sweatshirt so his hands could be seen. He lifted the boy's soiled clothes from the floor and stepped out into the hallway, just as Temperance walked out of the girl's bathroom, their clothes in her hand as both Booth and Seeley glanced to her.

"Are they okay?" Booth asked.

"They're fine." Temperance said. "They were just surprised. They're in their bedrooms right now." She said, watching the boy's hands as he gripped Booth's shirt. "Is this all you could find for him to wear?" She asked, approaching the little boy, she smiled. "Hi Seeley." She smiled, catching Booth's eyes, she gave him a sideways glance at his surprised expression as she held her hands out to him, he glanced to Booth and then reluctantly let Temperance take him, cuddling into her, he rested his head on her shoulder, feeling her motherly embrace. "What are you looking at me like that for? Did you expect me to call him Booth too?" She asked with a laugh as he shook his head and smiled at her. Her expression then turned to one of more concern, and he shook his head.

"I don't even know where to start." He whispered as he watched Temperance nod. They walked down the stairs; Seeley nestled in Temperance's neck as she turned the corner toward the laundry room. Booth followed behind her, as they stepped into the room together. Booth lifted the boy's clothes to the washing machine, dropping his shirt and into the washer, and his pants and underwear followed, as a slip of paper flew from the pocket of the pants, landing on top of the clothes. Booth was about to reach into the machine to grab it, but Temperance was just a second quicker, and pulled it from the washing machine as she tossed the girl's clothes in as well. "Hey…" He said, starting up the washing machine.

"Hey yourself." She said with a playful smile as she walked out of the laundry room with Booth on her heels.

"You're holding him, let me see the paper." He said as she turned into him.

"You will get your turn." She said, trying to open the paper with one hand, he quickly grabbed it from her as she felt Seeley sit up a little in her arms, looking to the paper as Booth unfolded it much to Temperance's chagrin. "Booth…"

"You snooze, you lose." He said with a snicker as he walked past her glare with a grin as he began reading the note. "It's from Jared."

"Obviously." Temperance said. "What does it say?" She asked, glancing to Seeley.

"It says…"

"Daddy?" A small voice whispered from the steps as he looked up to see Grace standing on the stairs, dressed in her pink heart pajamas, holding a book in her hands.

"Daddy will be up for story time in a couple minutes, Squeaker."

"No." She said, holding the book up. "I wanted to show the little boy my book." She said softly. "My fluffy bunny book."

Booth looked to the little girl, and to Seeley, and quickly decided that Gracie had possibly created an ideal diversion for he and Temperance. He smiled at his little girl and then to  
Seeley. "That sounds like a great idea." He said with a smile. "Come on downstairs…" He said, watching the little girl smile as she pounded down the rest of the steps and ran to the couch, pulling herself up onto it, she set her book in her lap as Temperance's eyes met with Booth's. She watched him for a moment as he nodded toward the couch, and she gave a knowing glance.

"Seeley, would you like to see Gracie's fluffy bunny book?" She asked softly, as the boy held his grasp on her. "She'd really like to show it to you." She said, watching the little boy glance to the little girl as she smiled happily and patted the spot next to her on the couch. Reluctantly, the little boy released his hold, and allowed Temperance to set him down on the couch. His eyes caught hers and she smiled at him, watching him relax as she carefully pulled the small blanket from behind the couch and covered the laps of the two little ones as they sat together.

"This is my fluffy bunny book, little boy." Grace said with a smile.

"Gracie, his name is Seeley."

"Oh." She said, glancing to the little boy. "This is my fluffy bunny book…" She said, pausing for a moment. "Little boy." She said, not looking up at her mother for reassurance,  
Temperance shook her head and looked to Booth. "Alright…" She said, reaching for the paper.

"Not so fast, sticky fingers." Booth said, pulling the paper out of his wife's reach. "It looks like he was in some kind of trouble." Booth said softly, reading over the paper.

"Will you please let me read it, Booth?" She whispered.

"Dear Tempe." Booth began to read. "First, I am sorry for doing this to you, but I don't think that there is anyone that I can trust with my most treasured possession more than I can trust you. The little boy here is Seeley Joseph Booth, my son. Named, obviously after my brother whom we both lost so many years ago. He's five years old, kind hearted, and at this point probably pretty scared. We lost his mother almost a year ago to cancer, and since then, I have gotten into quite a bit of trouble trying to make money to keep us going. All of our possessions are in the car, and you'll see that it isn't much. There are some pretty nasty thugs after me, and I didn't want Seeley to get stuck in the middle of it. Please take care of him, I know you will. I just have no other choice but to leave him behind. Please tell him that I love him, tell him not to be afraid. When I can, I will come back for him. Please don't look for me, I need him to be safe." Booth paused, looking up at Temperance. "Thank you, Tempe… Jared."

"Booth." Temperance whispered, looking to the little boy as he pointed to something in the book and smiled at Grace, who giggled. "What do we do?"

"Well, for starters… it explains all of the crazy stuff he was talking about when he got out of the car." Booth shrugged.

* * *

_Booth stood close to the house, his body hidden in the darkness of the house as he watched the person who was sitting in the car, staring at Temperance's car. The figure was dark, so he couldn't get a good look, but the lights of the car were on, and the car was running as Booth stood staring at the car, his eyes flickering to his wife, who was watching him very closely as he stepped slowly across the lawn toward the driveway. He paused for just a split second, wishing that he had his firearm, he knew that Temperance would have the one he kept locked in the car, so he slowed when the car parked in front of the house, and the lights turned off, his eyes flicked to Temperance, and she had a phone pressed to her ear._  
_The person in the car then swung the door open sloppily, and Booth squinted slightly as the person's face came into view. His breath hitched as he watched Jared stumble clumsily from the car, his eyes on Temperance's car. "Jared?" Booth called, the man's eyes shot to him, and they widened, stumbling slightly. _

_"Seeley?" He said, squinting his eyes as he stopped. "What the… You're dead!" He shouted._

_"Jared, are you drunk?" Booth asked._

_"You're dead!" He shouted at Booth. "You can't do this to me, Seeley! You're dead!" He screamed._

_"Jared, stop yelling."_

_"Fuck you!" Jared shouted. "What the fuck are you doing here, you miserable sonofabitch?" He screamed, his speech slurring as he shouted. "What the fuck are you doing here? You're dead! Where is Tempe? What the fuck is going on, what kind of sick fucking joke is this?" Jared screamed, stumbling again. "What kind of sick fucking joke is this, you son of a bitch!" He screamed._

_"Jared, calm down!" Booth exclaimed, catching eyes with Temperance, he watched her for a moment as Jared suddenly came at him. He was ready to defend himself if need be, but his brother simply wrapped his arms around him, squeezing him tightly as they stumbled backwards. He smelled of beer, cigarettes, and body odor, but his grasp was strong. "Jared, _  
_it's alright."_

_"It's not alright! It's not alright… You're supposed to be dead! You're supposed to be dead, where the fuck were you? Where the fuck were you?" He shouted, pushing against Booth, he stumbled backwards and fell onto the grass, tumbling onto his back. His hands covered his face as Booth approached him quickly, he looked up to see Temperance getting out of the car. _

_"Bones?"_

_"I'm okay." She said, still on the phone. _

_"He's supposed to be dead, Tempe! Why didn't you tell me he wasn't dead?" He screamed._

_"She didn't know where you were, Jared! None of us did! Where the hell have you been? You dropped off the grid!"_

_"You were gone! I had no reason to be here! I have… I have no reason to be here!" He shouted._

_"Why are you here now, Jared?" Booth asked._

_"This is supposed to be easier… this wasn't supposed to happen like this! It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" he screamed. "You're supposed to be dead! You're supposed to be in the fucking ground!" _

_"Why does it matter?" Booth asked. "Why does it matter if I am alive or dead? I'm alive… You need to calm down."_

_"I can't calm down!"_

_"Why were you following Bones?" he asked, looking down at his brother as he sat in the grass, his knees drawn up. "Why were you following her?"_

_"This was supposed to be easier… it was supposed to be easier…" He mumbled. _

_"Jared, you're not making any sense." Booth said as he looked to Temperance, and then to the house, his eyes lifting to the window of his bedroom, he saw two faces peering out, and felt a surge of frustration. His brother was making a scene, and his children were witnessing it. He needed to get him out of there as soon as possible. He looked to Temperance just as she put her phone away, and she glanced to Jared._

_"I got him a cab." She said, looking to where Booth had been looking at the window. "Maybe he can sleep it off at a hotel?" She asked. _

_"Yeah." Booth nodded. "Can you check on the girls?" He asked, watching Temperance nod as she made her way quickly toward the house. He waited until the door was closed, and then leaned down to his brother. "You're making this a lot harder than it should be, Jared." He growled._

_"Yeah? Well…. Fuck you." He spat angrily. "You… I thought Tempe could take care of things for me… do you think she can?" He said, suddenly desperate in his grasp of his brother._

_"Jared, Bones and I will do whatever we can to help you. She got you a taxi, okay? It'll be here in a little bit… and I'll call in a room at hotel a few blocks from here. You need to sleep this off, okay? Can you do that? Our children are in the house, and we can't have you in there right now, not like this."_

_"You don't trust me?" Jared asked, his eyes widening. "You don't trust me…"_

_"Hey, I trust you… just… I don't want them to be nervous, okay?" Booth lied, but it seemed to calm Jared._

_"I trust you too. Even if you're supposed to be dead." Jared patted his brother as he stood sloppily with Booth's help. "Take care of my car…" He mumbled. "Make sure you take care of him."_

_"Alright." Booth nodded as he watched the taxi pull up to the curb. _

_"Take good care of him, please… tell him I love him… and I'm sorry I had to leave him behind." Jared mumbled as he let Booth help him toward the car. _  
_Booth listened to his brother's rambling, unsure of why he was referring to his car as a male, but just figuring it was because he was so drunk. He helped him into the cab. _

_"Sleep it off, okay? We'll talk tomorrow."_

_"Don't forget my car." He mumbled._

_"I won't." Booth said, looking to the cab driver. He told him what hotel to take Jared to, and gave him several dollars from his pocket. He was about to close the door on Jared, when his brother reached out for him and grabbed his hand. _

_"I'm sorry." Jared said, before releasing his brother's hand, as Booth held his fist to Jared, who bumped it._

_"It's alright man… sober up, I'll see you tomorrow." Booth said, stepping back as he closed the door and watched the cab drive away with Jared, as he picked up his phone and quickly dialed up the hotel, and then made his way quickly to the house to his family._

* * *

"So he planned to leave Seeley with just me." Temperance said as she watched the little boy yawn. "But why?"

"Because he knew that you'd look after him." Booth said, taking her hand. "He knew that you wouldn't toss him into a foster home, and you wouldn't treat him like dirt. He knew that you loved me when you lost me."

"Love you." She said, leaning up to kiss him. "I never stopped loving you."

"Ew!" Gracie exclaimed from the couch, sending Seeley into a matching tone as he exclaimed it as well, as Booth and Temperance looked over at the two of them.

"That's enough from the peanut gallery…" Booth said as he listened to the two kids giggle.

"What do we do now?" Temperance asked, watching Booth still smiling at the two children sitting on the couch.

"First… we get them to bed." He said, nodding toward the couch. "Then, we do some investigative work." He said, walking toward the couch, he lifted the little boy up and put him down on his lap, as he and Seeley flopped down on the cushions next to Grace. "Go get your sister, Squeaker… bedtime story time."

"Yay!" Grace exclaimed, hopping from the couch, as she ran for the stairs. "Nee! Nee! Nee!" She squealed happily as she took off running up the stairs.  
Booth looked up to Temperance as he sat with the boy on his lap, and Seeley looked up at Temperance. She crouched down in front of him and smiled tenderly. "Do you think you like it here?" She asked softly, watching as Seeley nodded his head slowly. "And you're not so scared anymore?" She asked, watching him shake his head. "Good." She smiled. "It's okay to be scared, but just know there are plenty of people here that will do all they can to make you feel better, okay?" she asked, slowly lifting her fist, she watched him look up at her and down at her fist, as slowly a smile spread over his face. His eyes lightened at the offering of the ritual, and with a smile, he reached out, bumping his fist with hers, as he opened his mouth to an all out grin. "I think he's going to fit in just nicely around here." Temperance said as they listened to the sound of pounding feet on the stairs, and two happy little girls flopped down on either side of their daddy for their nightly ritual of story time.


	8. Questions and Contracts

It had to have been nearly two hours before Booth finally began to give in to his sleepiness. He had read through the fluffy bunny book at least three times before Antonia insisted he read them several chapters from her favorite book, 'The Secret Garden', before Booth yawned and paused.

"Daddy, you have to finish the chapter." Antonia insisted as she watched her father stubbornly, her eyebrows raised in that classic look her mother always got on her face when she stubbornly expected something from him.

"We can finish it tomorrow." He said, shifting slightly, he felt his other daughter slumping against him, her body limp in sleep as he looked down at the little boy in his arms to find that he too had succumbed to his exhaustion from the day's over stimulating changes.

"Daddy, please?"

"It is way past your bed time." Booth argued in a low voice, glancing to Temperance as she looked up from her book. He gave her his classic 'aren't you going to help' expression, to which she replied with her expected 'it looks like you've got everything under control' glance, before returning to her book.

"Please, Daddy." Antonia whined, sighing heavily.

"Tomorrow, tomorrow." Booth insisted. "Take your book upstairs, take fluffy bunny back to his rightful place." He said, handing her the other book. "Don't give me that look. You were already defiant once today, and I think you've reached your quota for the week."

"Daddy." She sighed.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." He said, kissing her cheek as she leaned in for a hug. "Sweet dreams."

"You too, Daddy." She said as she moved from her spot with the two books and walked to her mother. "Goodnight, mommy."

"Goodnight, princess." Temperance said, kissing her little girl on the cheek as Antonia watched her father move a little on the couch, preparing to bring her sister to bed.

"What are you going to do about Seeley, daddy?" She asked curiously. "Where is he going to stay?"

"He's going to stay right here with us until we find his daddy." Booth said, gratefully allowing Temperance to lift the boy from his lap as he sat up and draped Grace on his shoulder. Temperance gave her sleeping little girl a kiss as Booth stood up.

"We can talk more tomorrow, it's late and you have school in the morning." Temperance replied to Antonia.

"But why did his daddy leave?" Antonia asked, walking with Booth, who carried Grace toward the stairs, his hand on his older daughter's shoulder as he guided her up the stairs.

"That's something we're going to find out soon."

"But why would his daddy just leave his little boy behind, Daddy? What kind of person does that?" She asked as she stepped onto the top step of the stairs, she turned around and faced her father, looking up at him with curious eyes.

"He wanted him to be safe, baby girl. He couldn't think of a safer place to leave his little boy than right here with your mama and me. We will get to the bottom of all of this, and we'll give you more answers tomorrow, but for now you need to get some sleep."

Antonia covered her mouth in a yawn as she rubbed her eye. "But I'm not tired." She said as she tried to convince him otherwise.

"Well, I am…" He said with a playful smile. "Goodnight, baby."

"Goodnight, Daddy." She said with a matching smile, as she swung herself into her bedroom and watched her father disappear into her sister's room with Grace.

Booth stepped into the room and carefully pulled the blankets from his daughter's bed, nestling her in the covers, he crouched down and covered her with the blanket. As soon as he kissed her cheek and pulled away, he was met with her bright blue eyes. "Fluffy bunny?" She whispered.

"Fluffy bunny is sleeping." He whispered, pulling her little stuffed mouse from his spot beside her pillow.

"You didn't finish, daddy." She whispered, cuddling her mouse to her chest, her eyes were as clear as a summer day, and her voice as soft as the wind.

He narrowed his eyes and gave her a playful smile, tipping his head. "Fluffy bunny went to bed, with a kiss his mama said…" He whispered. "Sleep, sleep, sleep, my little bun… tomorrow we'll have a lot more fun."

His rhyme was met with a brilliant smile, as Grace giggled and cuddled her mouse. "Sweet dreams and jelly beans."

"One for you, and two for me." He said, kissing her nose as he watched her eyes close. "I love you, princess squeaker."

His whisper went unanswered, for in that split second, his little girl had already drifted back to sleep. Booth watched her for a second more, before he made his way quietly from the room, listening from the hallway for any movement from the bedrooms of his three children, he spied the light from under Antonia's door. "Bedtime, Toni."

"Just finishing this chapter, Daddy." She called out, as Booth sighed and shook his head, as he made his way to the stairs, climbing down quickly so that he and Temperance could deal with their other addition, and the circumstances that surrounded his arrival.

* * *

When Booth stepped down the stairs, he stopped as he turned, his eyes resting on his wife, sitting in the rocking chair in the living room as she cuddled the little boy as if he were one of her own, her voice softly humming a song. She looked over to him and caught his eyes, tilting her head slightly. "You are always watching me." She whispered.

"Always have, and always will." He said, stepping toward her, he sat on the chair across from her and watched her gently rock the little boy gently. Her eyes caught his gaze again, and he smiled. "What do you think we should do?" He asked.

"Well," She replied softly, trying her best not to disturb the little boy. "Since story time took the better part of the evening, maybe we should wait until morning to look for clues to what kind of trouble Jared was in." She said, seeing a look of concern cross over his face, he kept his gaze on the little boy. "I know you're worried about Jared, Booth. We'll find him."

"I'm just afraid that when we do, it'll be too late."

"No." She shook her head, her eyes burning into his as she made sure his attention was on her completely. "That is not an option, Booth." She said seriously. "It is absolutely not an option."

Booth smiled at Temperance and laughed just a little, "Since when are you the one with the optimistic outlook? Since when are you the one with the silver lining mentality?"

"Oh, I'm sure that you can figure out about when things changed for me." She teased back, though her face became serious after a moment. "I think we should call in the team for this one."

"The team?" Booth asked, sitting back on the couch, he smiled. "What team?"

"Our team… Hodgins, Angela can help… We can pool our resources and find Jared. We can figure out what's going on with Jared through the tools and resources that we have at our fingertips, unofficially, of course."

"Of course." Booth said with a charming grin. "So what you're saying, is that you want to be my partner on this?" He asked slyly, leaning forward, his voice deep and teasing.

"I thought that I was always your partner." She asked, "On everything."

"Nah, you have Ace… he's your partner."

"No. He's my contractual obligation." She said with a snicker.

"Mm…" He said, raising an eyebrow. "We're married, doesn't that make you and I a contractual obligation?" He asked as he started to sit back, her hand was too quick and reached out, grabbing the collar of his t-shirt, she pulled him closer.

"Are you in, or are you out?" She shrugged.

"Oh, I'm in, baby…" He whispered back. "Thank you." He said softly, leaning forward, she released his shirt, and felt him drop a kiss on her cheek as their eyes caught for a moment.

"I'll do anything for you, Booth."

"I know you would." He said, capturing her lips with his as he smiled against them. "Are you ready to go up to bed?" He whispered, crouching by the chair, he looked down at the little boy, his angelic face rested and worry free as she rocked him gently in the chair.

"You go on upstairs… I'll stay with him down here." She replied. "I don't want him to wake up alone again in a strange place. I don't want him to be frightened."

"Are you sure? I can stay here with you, sleep on the couch." He smiled.

"If you want to." She replied, watching the sparkle in his eyes.

"I want to." He replied, kissing her lips once again, before moving to the couch. He lay against the cushions, watching Temperance as she gently rocked the little boy, her voice floating through the room in a delicate hum, and before he could even think another thought, her gentle voice lulled him into a deep slumber.


	9. Moving Things Along

**A/N**

**I apologize for the slow progression of this story. I promise there is a plot, though currently I am not as involved in this fic as I am with If the Fates Allow, and Birthday Proposal. Midnight Train has been placed on a temporary hiatus until I complete one of those stories. The following chapter is simply a transition chapter, and I assure you, future chapters will contain more pertinant information to the plot. So... on with the filler chapter. Enjoy. :)**

* * *

The doorbell rang, and Booth walked quickly toward the living room for it, swinging the door open to reveal Angela standing with JV in her arms, her eyes flicking up to catch sight of him with a look of surprise. "Well look at who is home this morning." She said with a grin as Booth gave her a slightly sarcastic look.

"Hey, Ange."

"You're never here in the morning." She said, lifting JV to Booth, the little boy quietly clung to the man as his mother stepped around him. "Where's Bren?"

"Dining room…" Booth said. "Ange, she isn't going in today."

"What do you mean she isn't going in?" Angela asked, watching Booth follow her toward the kitchen, she stopped.

"We need your help with something."

"Okay." She said, walking into the kitchen quickly, she left Booth and JV behind.

"Well, that was nice of her…just abandoning you with me like that". Booth muttered. "How are you this morning?" The little boy shrugged and gave Booth a smile. "Good to hear." Booth said, stepping into the kitchen after Angela.

Temperance faced her friend walking into the room, and her mouth opened slightly. "Hey."

"Hey, Booth said that you needed my help with…" She stopped as her eyes panned the table, and four children looked up at her.

"Hey Big A." Antonia smiled as she took a bit bite of cereal from her spoon.

"Hey Little A." Angela said quickly as her eyes focused on her friend. "You have an extra one."

"We do." Temperance said as she poured milk into another bowl, and handed it to her friend, watching as Booth stepped into the room with JV. The thin little boy was a perfect replica of his daddy, a head of curly hair and big blue eyes, brightened as soon as he saw Temperance. "Good morning, Mr. Hodgins." She said with a smile, reveling in his bright and happy grin.

"Hiya, Auntie Bones." He said, bumping knuckles with Booth when Temperance glared. He then glanced to the table, he caught Grace's eye and waved to her. "Gracie Girl!"

"Hi, JV." Grace said with a serious look. "There's a little boy in your chair, sorry." She said as she watched her father's eyebrow lift skeptically. "What?"

"JV, this is my nephew." Booth said, lifting JV to the floor, he stepped back into Booth's legs. Booth glanced to Angela as she set the bowl of cereal on the table. "His name is Seeley Joseph Booth." He said, watching Angela's reaction.

"Your nephew?"

"That's right." Booth said, pulling out the chair beside Angela, he ushered JV to the seat. He looked up at Booth, who gave him an encouraging nod and he sat down in the chair beside Seeley. The two boys looked at one another, and JV grabbed the spoon and began to eat his breakfast with the other children.

"Uncle Jared just left him here last night and took off." Parker chimed in, glancing to his father, who glanced at him quickly. "What? She was going to ask."

"Just finish up your cereal and get your stuff for school." Booth said, lifting his eyebrow to his son's sheepish expression. "Big mouth…" He said, with a bit of a smirk.

"Jared just dropped him off?" Angela asked, glancing between Booth and Temperance.

"He left him, and his car here. All he left was this note." Temperance said, handing over the folded piece of paper. She read through it and looked up at Temperance. "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to find him." Booth replied as he handed Parker his backpack from beside the counter. "Come right home after school, please."

"Okay." Parker said as he shouldered his backpack.

Booth handed Antonia her backpack and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Have a good day at school, sunshine."

"I will. Love you, Daddy." She said, leaning up for a hug too. She gave Temperance and Angela a quick hug and ran to catch up with Parker so they could walk to the bus together.

Temperance stepped to the side, as Booth sat down with the three children, and Angela stepped aside with her. "We were going to keep Gracie home from preschool today to keep Seeley from being lonely, and Booth agreed he'd keep an eye on the kids while we search the car for evidence. JV can stay with the other children, if you'd like."

"Evidence? Evidence of what?"

"Of where Jared was, where he might be going… who is after him." Temperance whispered. "I was hoping that Jack could help us with some particulates, and maybe if Seeley remembers anyone that might be after his dad... maybe we can draw up a profile, and find them."

"You sound like you want us to act like the car is a crime scene." Angela replied, glancing to her son, who was grinning at Booth, preparing to fling cereal across the table at him. He saw his mother's watchful gaze and shoved the spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"Abandoning your child is a crime, Angela." Temperance replied seriously. "As far as I'm concerned, it is a crime scene." She said softly as she glanced to the children as Seeley and the other children giggled as Booth put a piece of cereal on his nose and reached his tongue up to capture it in his mouth.

"You sure he'll be alright with the three of them?" Angela asked, watching as Grace and JV attempted to emulate Booth, their tongues sticking out as cereal balanced on their noses.

"Booth can handle them." Temperance nodded as the bits of cereal fell off the two children's noses, as they burst into hysterical laughter.

"I was talking about Seeley dealing with those three." Angela said with a laugh, as Seeley himself decided to join in the fun with his own piece of cereal.


	10. Good Hands

Hodgins arrived at the house not long after he had been informed that they were going to need his help on a case. Temperance was eager to get started, meeting him out on the front porch, she stepped down the steps just as he got out of his car. She handed him a pair of gloves and walked toward the car. "What's going on, Doctor B?" He asked, taking the latex gloves she offered him, she nodded toward the car.

"This is Jared Booth's car." She said, turning to see Hodgins' surprised look, his eyebrows raised. "He was here last night, briefly, but then disappeared. Booth wants us to see if we can figure out what kind of trouble he was in, where he has been, where he might be going based on any clues in the car." She took a deep breath and watched Hodgins nod. Then she just said it. "Angela and Booth are inside with Jared's five year old son. He abandoned him here with us before he disappeared. We're going to see if we can get any information from him regarding where they have been, or people that Jared has been in contact with."

"Is he okay?"

"He appears to be in good health, though he was in need of a bath and some food last night. He doesn't appear to have been abused, or neglected." Temperance nodded.

"Man, that sucks." Hodgins said, glancing to the car. "So this is his car, huh?"

"Yes. We're going to take an inventory of everything inside, and do some tests on the contents. Perhaps we'll be able to map out what was going through Jared's mind when he left last night."

"My guess is nothing." Hodgins said under his breath. He glanced to Temperance and noticed that she seemed to be listening and he grinned sheepishly. "Got it." He said, putting the latex gloves on, he walked toward the car. "Let's get started."

* * *

Angela sat on the couch watching the three children play together, their interaction seemed natural and not strained by the newcomer in the home, and Seeley seemed to be fitting in well with the two younger children. She looked up when Booth walked into the room, and gave him a sad smile. "Hodgins is here." He said, noticing that JV looked up immediately.

"Daddy is here?" He asked, standing up straight, his eyes were smiling as if asking permission.

"He's outside with Auntie Bones." Angela said, taking his hand before he took off for the door. "They're working, baby."

"Why?" He asked, glancing to Booth. "Why?"

"Why not?" Booth asked as he stood up, JV gave him a scrutinizing look and Booth lifted an eyebrow. The little boy's lip curled to a mischievous grin, and he turned back to go play with Grace. He looked to Angela, and she had a humored smile on his face. "What was I supposed to tell him?"

"Nothing." She said, laughing lightly as she stood up as well. "We should probably get started. You know how Bren and Hodgins work."

"Quickly." Booth nodded. "Seeley?" Booth said, watching the boy's eyes look up and meet his. "Angela wants to talk to you about a couple of things, why don't you come over here and talk with us?"

"No thank you." Seeley said, turning back around, he continued to play.

Booth glanced to Angela. "At least he was polite about it." She shrugged. "Seeley, sweetheart…" Angela said, noticing that the little boy just continued to play, though she could tell that he was listening. "Your Uncle…" She said, looking up at Booth, she gave him a look, not knowing what to call Booth, he shrugged. "Your uncle wants me to draw a picture of your daddy, and some of his friends so we can ask around to see if we can find him." She said softly, noting the boy's play was a little slower, he was thinking about what she was saying. "If we want to find your daddy, we're going to need your help." She said.

Seeley turned his head and looked to Angela, his eyes were wide, filled with sadness despite the fact that he was playing. "Daddy loves me. Tempe will take care of me until daddy comes back." He said, his words sounding more like a script than the words of a five year old. "Daddy loves me." He mumbled.

"Of course your daddy loves you," she said. "He just wants you to be safe. He knew that Tempe was a very nice person, and that she'd take very good care of you. Do you want me to help you find your daddy?"

The boy nodded solemnly, and glanced to Booth, the look he gave him was quite wary, as if he didn't quite trust him. There were times that he felt comfortable, but others when he would remember his father's warning, and with the intensity in Booth's eyes, he couldn't tell if he should feel safe or frightened. Angela held her hand out to him, and he carefully stood up and took her hand. He looked to Booth and clung to her just a little more, and she flashed him a glance of apology.

"It's fine." Booth said, "I'll keep an eye on the trouble twosome." He said with a smile of sincerity, as he made himself comfortable on the couch. It didn't take a moment, before both JV and Grace were in his lap, book in hand.

* * *

Angela walked with Seeley toward the kitchen, and pulled out a chair for him to climb up into. She smiled as he sat down, and he looked nervous. "Are you okay?" She asked. He nodded his head. "Are you scared?" She asked, and he nodded again, leaning his chin on his arms on the table, he watched Angela walk to the long drawer near the wall, and pulled out several sheets of paper. She then pulled out some colored pencils. "It's a good thing that I know where Gracie and Toni keep their drawing stuff, huh?" She said with a friendly smile as she sat down beside him.

She set a paper in front of Seeley, and one in front of herself, and handed him the colored pencils. "We can draw at the same time, okay?" She said, watching him nod.

The two of them sat and talked, and Angela started with a simple sketch of Jared, based on what she knew about Booth's brother, and the little boy's memories, she was able to draw a fairly accurate likeness for the boy. The more the picture formed, the more talkative he became, describing what his daddy's eyes looked like, and meekly offering her drawing advice as he drew his own picture. After a little while, she slipped her paper closer to him, and he nodded.

"That's daddy." He said, his eyes focusing on the picture for a moment, Angela noticed that he was starting to get upset.

"Hey…" Angela said softly. "We're going to find him, buddy."

"No." He shook his head. "The bad man is going to get him. I don't know where daddy is, I can't help him… and now the bad man is going to get him." He said, as tears started rolling down his cheeks, his lip trembled.

"Oh, baby…" Angela said, reaching out for the little boy, he allowed her to lift him into her arms as he started to cry into her shoulder. The door opened, and Booth poked his head in the room.

"Is he…?"

"He's okay." She said, rubbing the boy's back , he continued to cry.

"He doesn't look okay." Booth said, and Angela glared at him.

"Just go."

"Hey, is that the little boy?" Grace said, looking into the room between her father's legs, she could see Seeley crying against Angela.

"Why is he crying?" JV asked, also between Booth's legs, the two kids started crawling into the room.

"Not so fast, you two." Booth said, grabbing both of them by the waist of their pants, he lifted them into the air as they both let out a squealing giggle.

Seeley looked up to see the two children hanging by their pants and let out a little bit of a giggle through his tears. "I'm getting somewhere." Angela said, pleased with Booth's nod, he gave Seeley a half smile.

"You're in good hands, little man." Booth said, carting the other two out by their pants, he turned and left the room with the two giggling little ones.

* * *

**A/N A few housekeeping notes... **

**1. This fic has some direction... bear with me.**

**2. Midnight Train is in the process of being looked at and written as is Running on Empty.**

**3. Reviews/Comments are appreciated**

**4. Thnx4thegum and myself have started a new (Bones) fic together called "Just Partners" under the screen name Thnx4thecatspjs ... check it out! **


	11. What Remains

Booth and Temperance sat at the kitchen table, a plethora of evidence spread over the table in various forms as she catalogued each item in a thorough list. She glanced to the table and to her list again, when she realized he was watching her. She looked up to see the loving smile on his lips. "What?"

"I love watching you work." He said, listening to the sound of a pencil tapping behind him, he turned to the girl who was sitting on the barstool at the counter. "How is your homework coming along."

"Fine." Antonia replied, turning the barstool in a circle, she faced her father as he leaned on the counter. He narrowed his eyes at her. "What?" She asked.

"What's with the mood?" He asked.

"I don't know what that means." She said, turning her chair, she put her pencil to the paper and concentrated on the math problems on the page, the chair kept turning, and she came face to face with her father.

"How was school?" He asked, sitting in the barstool beside her, she turned away again.

"Okay, I guess."

"You guess? Did you even go to school?" He asked, reaching out to tickle her, she let out a laugh and squirmed a little in his hold, as she settled back in her chair.

"Yes!" She laughed.

"So how was school?"

"It was good." She said, her lips taking on a sort of pout that he wasn't about to let get past him. "I was just worried about Seeley. I was hoping you would find his daddy for him."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about Seeley." Booth said, touching his little girl's brown hair, he tipped his head so she would look at him. "We'll find his daddy. These things take time." He nodded toward her paper. "How is your math homework?"

"It's done." She shrugged. "I finished it on the bus on the way home. I was just checking over my answers."

"You are a homeworkaholic!" Booth replied, leaning forward to kiss her cheek.

"Daddy, that is not a word." She replied, glancing to her mother. "Mommy, that's not a real word, is it?"

"It's a real word. I pulled it right out of the 'Dadtionary'…." Booth replied, listening to his daughter's giggle.

"Mommy!"

"Booth, stop butchering the English language and help me over here." She said, smiling at him from across the table now, he turned back to Antonia.

"Why don't you run up and get ready for bed. Seeley and Grace are already dressed for bed and probably fell asleep on the couch watching their movie. Come back down, and we'll have story time."

She watched her father's eyes carefully, wanting to say more, but not exactly sure what to say. "What happens if we don't find his daddy?"

"Then he moves in with us, and Gracie gets your room, and you can live in the garage." Booth said without a pause.

Antonia's jaw dropped and Temperance stepped in before a war started. "Booth." She said, nodding toward the evidence. "Baby… nobody is going to take your room, go get ready for bed."

Antonia narrowed her eyes at her father, and he smiled. "You're so gullible." He laughed, standing up, he walked to the table. Antonia climbed from the barstool and put her papers away, and hurried from the room. Booth was silent for a moment, as he looked over Temperance's list.

"Why must you bicker with her?"

"She enjoys bickering. She's just like her mother."

"I do not enjoy bickering." Temperance replied, trying to remain serious against his humored grin. "Alright, that's enough with the charm smile, did I miss anything on the list?" She asked, his eyes moving back to the paper and then back to her.

"Looks good."

"You barely looked at it."

"It's because I know that you're very thorough." He replied, leaning toward her. "I like working with you again."

"You and I have been working together every day, Booth. We're always working together."

"Yeah, but this is different, we're partners here… at work, I'm just hired help."

"You know that is not true."

"Well, this feels different. This feels like we're partners again." He said, slapping the pad of paper lightly on the table, she looked up into his eyes and smiled at him. "Doesn't it?"

"Yeah," she nodded, watching his eyes sparkle with happiness. "Even though technically we're not." She looked down at the paper, and heard him kick the chair out and sit down in it, she suddenly felt like she had hurt his feelings, and for a moment refused to look up at him. She focused on the items on the table.

"I feel like I'm lying to Antonia." He said suddenly, her eyes meeting his with a bit of surprise.

"You are lying to her. You told her that she'd be living in the garage if we didn't find Jared." She pointed out, letting her lips curl into a smile.

"You know what I mean, Bones." He sighed. "I promised her we'd find him. I promised her she had nothing to worry about. What if we don't find him? What do we do then? What if Jared disappears for good? What if we find him dead somewhere? What happens then, Bones?"

"We will take care of whatever is thrown our way, Booth. If he's alive, we'll help him, if he's dead, then we'll handle that. Antonia knows that you do your best, you are worrying far too much about letting her down. She believes in you, I believe in you."

"And what about Seeley?" Booth asked, his voice thick with emotion. "What happens to that little boy when he learns that his daddy isn't coming home? Who is going to be the one to tell him that we failed?"

Temperance stood up and walked around the table, she looked down at one of the receipts that they had pulled from Jared's car as she wrapped her arms around Booth from behind, settling her chin in his shoulder as she hugged him tightly. "I think you're more worried for yourself than you are for Seeley."

"I'm worried about both of us." He whispered. "Jared is my little brother, Bones. I'm supposed to protect him. I'm supposed to help him."

"You are helping him." She whispered, kissing him on the temple. "You're looking for him… you're caring for his son… you're doing all that you can." She whispered against him. "I love you." She said tenderly against his skin.

"I love you." He said, turning his head to drop a kiss onto her lips, their eyes remained locked for a moment or two. He found himself lost in her eyes, trying to determine what event had given him the luck to be loved by such a wonderful person. The door opened, and his attention was moved to the little girl walking purposefully through the doorway.

She stepped up to her parents and slapped her favorite book on the table. His eyebrows rose and she gave him an intense look. "You, me, fluffy bunny…"

"Demanding…" Booth said, looking to Temperance, who was hiding a smile.

"She takes after her mama." Temperance whispered into his ear, kissing his temple.

"Chop, chop!" Gracie said, pulling her book from the table, she took off for the living room again.

They both watched her disappear into the next room, and Booth leaned to the side, pulling the chair back slightly, he tugged on Temperance's arm until she was around him and on his lap facing him. "We can do this, right?"

She had the word 'what?' on her lips, pursed and ready to ask, when she smiled and surprised him. "We can do anything, Booth. We can handle anything." She said, kissing him softly, she wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. "We'll find him, Booth."

The door opened again, and little feet scampered inside as both adults turned to look. Grace stood with her book in her hands, saw her parents at the table and let out a dramatic sigh.

"I will be right there, hold onto your horses."

"I don't know what that means." Grace said, eying him.

Temperance kissed him and pulled from his arms, catching his gaze for a moment, as he turned toward the little girl. "It means you better get in there right now before I tickle you!" Booth exclaimed as he jumped from the chair, and chased the squealing little girl into the living room, and Temperance listened as the living room erupted into a harmony of laughs and shouts as they settled down for story time.

Once the house settled to a quiet hum, with Booth's voice echoing off the walls, Temperance settled back into the chair, and once again began to work on the remains of Jared's life, before he had disappeared out into the darkness alone.


	12. Where The Wild Things Aren't

With Parker and Antonia already gone for their school day, Temperance stood at the kitchen counter, carefully crafting a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She glanced behind her at the sound of a scuffle in the living room. It wasn't an angry scuffle, but one of laughter and above it all, she could hear the instigator of the laughter as he barged into the kitchen.

"Hurry, hurry!" Booth exclaimed, swinging the door open as Grace came dragging in behind him, followed by Seeley, who looked a bit lost in the shuffle.

"Daddy, we're not even late yet." Grace replied.

"Yet? We're not late yet? Did you hear that, Bones?" He asked, catching her eyes, she smiled as she closed the zip lock bag with the sandwich and slipped it into one of the paper bags on the counter. "Not late yet…"

"You're going to be late if you don't hurry up." She said, glancing to Grace. "Did you put the evidence in the truck?" She asked, glancing to the table as she put snacks in the bags.

"Truck is packed and ready; all that needs to be tossed in is Squeaker."

Temperance glanced to the little girl, and back to her husband. He was about to turn, when she grabbed his tie. "Hey." She said, getting his attention.

"Hey." He said, leaning in for a kiss. "What?"

"Where is her jacket?"

"Jacket?"

"Grace's jacket, it's November."

"Right." Booth said, turning sharply, his tie fell from her grasp, and he moved quickly to find his daughter's jacket.

Grace turned back to her mother and stepped to the counter, setting her fingers on its surface, she stood on her tip toes. "Hi, mommy."

"Hi baby." Temperance said, smiling down at her daughter, she gave her head a small pat and then folded the top of each lunch bag.

"Is the little boy going to school with us?" She whispered, glancing to Seeley as he stood watching them, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Seeley." Temperance said, to get his attention, and to drive the point across to Grace that the 'little boy' had a name. "Seeley is coming to work with mommy, and daddy is taking you to school."

"Aw… mama…" She huffed with a pout.

"No pouting." Temperance said, lifting the paper bag from the counter. "What does this say on it?" She asked, pointing to the name on the front.

"That's my name." She said with a smile, looking up at the other bags, she pointed to one. "That's daddy's lunch. It has his name on it." She said, recognizing 'Booth', written in marker on the front.

"Very funny, Bones." Booth said, stepping into the room with a small pink jacket in his hands. He helped Grace put it on, and moved toward the counter, pulling his wife in for another kiss. "Whenever you put my name on my lunch bag, everyone makes fun of me."

"I just want to make sure that you get the right one. But, if anyone picks on you at work, I'll beat them up, okay?" She asked, handing Grace her lunch bag as the little girl zipped up her jacket. She then handed Booth his lunch bag as well. "I'll see you at work." She said, kissing his lips tenderly, he glanced to Grace, who was looking into her lunch bag.

"Awesome, mommy! A pudding cup!" She said happily.

"Pudding cups?" Booth asked, looking in his bag, he glanced to Temperance with a frown. "Carrot sticks?" He asked, eying her with a fake scowl.

"We only had one pudding cup left." She said, kissing him again, she turned out of his arms, and stepped around him and started to clean up the counter. "Have a good day at school, baby girl." Temperance said, turning to crouch down and give her little girl a hug and a kiss.

"I will, mommy." Grace replied, grabbing her daddy's hand, she and Booth headed for the door. "Bye, little boy." She said to Seeley as she passed him, his eyes inquisitive as he remained quiet.

"Seeley." Temperance said, again trying to get Grace to acknowledge his name, Booth turned to look at her. She laughed when she realized that he thought she was calling him, and his eyes narrowed.

"That isn't funny." Booth replied, though a smile appeared at the corner of his lips. "Love you." He said, as he and Grace headed out for the day.

Temperance's focus went immediately to the little boy, he had watched Booth and Grace leave, and was now watching the closed door. "Seeley?" She said, he turned his head to look to her. "Are you alright?"

He looked toward the door, and back to her again, then nodded his head. Booth is just taking Gracie to school. She said, crouching down to his level. "Did you go to school?" She asked. He nodded his head and sighed slightly. "Gracie goes to Sunshine Day school." She said, knowing that it would simply be easier if she gave him facts. If he wished to offer up information, he'd do it in his own time; there was no sense in pressuring him. "Are you all ready to go?"

Seeley nodded and Temperance stood up, grabbing the two lunch bags from the counter, she gave him a coy smile. "Don't you tell your uncle… but I found an extra pudding cup in the refrigerator, just for you." She said, watching the boy grin, she smiled back at him, as she offered her hand to him, and they made their way to the car.

* * *

Seeley was situated in Grace's car seat, his eyes focused on Temperance's in the rear view mirror as she drove toward the lab. She wasn't sure what to say to the little boy about anything, so the drive was pretty quiet. They sat in traffic on the beltway with,some soft music playing on the radio, when she thought she heard Seeley say something softly. She looked back and saw that he was looking to her expectantly. She turned the knob on the radio and smiled to him. "Did you say something, sweetheart?"

"My teacher's name was Miss Peachtree." He said a little louder, his eyes sparkling when she smiled.

"Miss Peachtree." Temperance repeated.

"Yeah."

"She was a nice teacher?"

"Yeah, she kind of looked like my mom." He paused. "My mom was sick, now she's in heaven."

Temperance said nothing of the boy's admission, simply nodded. She knew the mechanism for grieving was different for children and adults, and she wasn't about to tarnish his mother's memory with her own beliefs. "When was the last time you saw Miss Peachtree?" She asked.

"Um… a long while ago. Daddy said we had to go for a drive far away. We drove real far. It's a lot colder here than it was at home." He said, looking out at the nearly bare trees. "Where are we going?"

"We are going… to the Jeffersonian." She smiled. "That's where I work…"

"What's that?"

"It's a museum."

"Do you work with dinosaurs?"

"No, though I do find paleontology fascinating."

There was a pause, and he furrowed his brow. "So no dinosaurs?"

"No dinosaurs." She replied. "I'm sorry." She glanced to him. "There are dinosaurs at the museum though, perhaps if there is time today, we'll go see them."

"Really?" He asked, and a bright grin lit up his face.

"Sure." She said, happy that she could make the little boy smile.

"Cool! I love dinosaurs!" He exclaimed happily, suddenly content with where his day was going, he seemed to physically relax, and settled in for the rest of the drive.

Once they arrived at the Jeffersonian, Temperance brought Seeley to the security desk to get a visitor's pass. His eyes were wide with wonder at the posters of dinosaurs and artifacts that lined the walls of the museum. He held Temperance's hand tightly, walking alongside her.

They walked into the lab, and Temperance could feel his grip become just a little tighter, and his pace began to slow. She stopped and lifted him into her arms. His hold was grateful as he looked her in the eyes. "This place can be a little overwhelming." She whispered, walking with him toward the office, Seeley buried his head in Temperance's shoulder.

"Bones." Booth's voice carried through the lab, just as he walked in through the door. She turned, a smile on her lips as she held the boy close.

"You got here quickly. What did you do, toss Grace out of the car as you drove past her school?"

"Tuck and roll, Bones… tuck and roll." He smiled as he approached her. "Every child should know the art of a quick getaway."

"Very funny." She laughed. "We're heading toward my office. Are you coming?"

"Sure." He said, following after them, Seeley held her tightly as they stepped inside. "Hey, little man…" Booth said, noting that the boy still held onto Temperance tightly, refusing to look up. "Bones, I don't think he likes me." Booth said, closing the door to the office.

"That's not true." Temperance said, sitting on the couch with Seeley, he continued to hide. Booth sat down beside them. "Is the evidence still in the truck?"

"Yeah, I'll get it in a little while, I just wanted to stop in… see how he's taking the whole lab experience. It's a big place, you know… all those shiny surfaces. It's like a doctor's office without the fun puzzles and magazines."

"I have plenty of magazines." Temperance scowled, feeling the boy's grip loosen slightly, though he still refused to look up. "We have coloring books, and crayons… books to read, and toys."

"Girl toys." Booth rolled his eyes playfully. "Seels needs a cool toy, not a girly toy." Seeley turned his head, looking to Booth, he watched him carefully. "Are you afraid of me?" He asked. The boy nodded his head slowly, unsure if Booth would get upset at this information. "I'm afraid of you too." He said, sitting back on the couch, he looked across the room.

There was a moment or two of silence, and Seeley sat up in Temperance's arms, watching Booth carefully. "You're afraid of a little boy?" He whispered.

"Not just any little boy." Booth said, "Just you."

Temperance smiled slightly at Booth's dismissive attitude, knowing that it was piquing the boy's interest. "Why?"

"You're scary." Booth replied, glancing to him, and then back across the room.

Seeley giggled a little. "I'm not scary." His giggle stopped though, when he realized Booth wasn't laughing. "Hey, I'm not scary." He said again, tapping Booth's shoulder.

"And what makes you not scary?" Booth asked.

"Um… I don't got horns on my head, or claws… or um… big scary teeth." Seeley explained.

"Hm…" Booth nodded.

"I don't… see?" He said, opening his mouth to display his normal teeth, he rubbed his head. "See?"

"I don't have any of those things either, do i?" Booth asked, narrowing his eyes, Seeley furrowed his brow.

"No."

"So then why are you scared of me?"

"Um…"

"See…" Booth shook his head. "Can't beat your own logic…"

"Huh?"

"I'm not scary either." Booth clarified. "I'm your daddy's brother. I promise I'd never hurt you."

"Daddy doesn't have a brother." Seeley replied, his hand gripping Temperance's shirt again.

"Sure he does." Booth said, "You can even ask Parker." Booth pulled out is wallet and pulled his Driver's license out. "See that? What does that say next to my picture?"

Seeley squinted at it and looked back to Booth. "That's my name!" He exclaimed.

"Well, it was my name first." Booth replied. "Maybe I should be afraid you're trying to steal my identity. How do I know you're not going to go off and steal my car?" Booth asked.

"I'm too short to drive, silly!" Seeley let out a laugh.

"Have you ever tried?" Booth asked, sounding serious in his questioning.

"No." Seeley giggled.

"Good." Booth nodded. "Bones here has a lot of work to do today… she's a doctor you know?" Seeley glanced to Temperance. "That's right…she's the smartest woman you'll ever meet." Booth said, watching Seeley as he slipped out of Temperance's arms, to the floor. "Do you want me to give you the grand tour?" Booth asked, watching the boy's eyes widen, his eyebrows lifted curiously

"Can we go see the dinosaurs?" He asked, glancing to Temperance.

"I think that can be arranged. I know them all personally, you know." Booth replied, standing up, he offered his hand.

"Really?"

"Absolutely." Booth replied, glancing to Temperance, he could see the smile creeping onto her lips.

"Evidence." She mouthed, nodding toward the door.

"Have one of your students get the box out of the truck." Booth said, tossing the keys to his wife. "Seels and I have some dinosaurs to meet."

"So cool!" Seeley exclaimed, pulling Booth's hand, Temperance simply shook her head, as the two of them disappeared out the door together.


	13. The Calm Before The Storm

Temperance sat at the couch in her office for a moment, attempting to collect herself. The stress of the past two days seemed to be marching at full force through her mind. She had many thoughts on what they should do to attempt to find Jared, but no clue as to where to start. She stood up to go to the SUV, knowing that she could have just as easily asked one of her students to get the evidence from it, but instead chose to do it herself. She walked from her office, gripping her husband's car keys in her hands, lost in thought, when she heard the familiar whistle of Christopher Harding coming in her direction. She looked up to see him glancing toward the platform as he made his way through the lab, and smiled when he saw her. "There you are, Doc." He said with a playful humor in his voice.

"Where else would I be, Agent Harding?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at the agent curiously, she walked past him toward the door.

"Where are you heading off to in such a hurry?" He asked, following beside her, he kept with her steady pace. "I have a case for us."

"I can assign one of my interns to your case. I have a personal matter to tend to right now."

"One of the kids sick?"

"No." She replied, pushing the button on the elevator, she stepped back and waited, eying her partner for a moment.

"Is Booth alright?" He asked.

"Booth is fine." She said, slightly humored by the guessing game, the elevator door opened and she stepped inside and turned around.

"Well where is he?" He asked, his eyebrow lifting curiously.

"In the Cretaceous period, would be my guess." She said with a smile, pushing the button for the garage. "I'll be back in a minute, I have to go get some evidence from the truck." She said, just as the doors closed, stifling her partner's confused exclamation, as the elevator began to descend.

* * *

"Look! A Tyrannosaurus Rex!" Seeley exclaimed, tugging on his uncle's hand toward the large skeleton. "That is so cool!" He shouted.

"Yeah, his name is Tyrone." Booth said, staring up at the large skeleton, he saw Seeley's head snap in his direction.

"That's not his name!" Seeley laughed.

"How do you know it's not?"

"Because dinosaurs don't have names."

"You can even ask Bones, she'll tell you the same thing." Booth replied defiantly.

"Uncle Seeley?" the little boy said, looking up at his uncle, he caught the surprised look on his face. "I can call you that, right?"

"Yeah." Booth nodded. "Of course,"

"Why do you call Tempe, Bones?"

He was wondering when the question would arise. It always did at one time or another with a new person around, especially a child or someone who worked with his children. He smiled and remembered when Antonia's teacher asked the very same question. "Because that's what she's best at."

"Bones?"

"That's right… she can look at someone's bones and tell you a hundred things about them."

"Just by looking at their bones?"

"That's right." Booth said, looking up at the dinosaur.

"Could she tell me about Tyrone?" Seeley asked, looking up at the skeleton.

"Bones could probably tell you about just about anything here at the museum. She's the smartest person I know."

"That's what daddy told me too." Seeley said, walking toward a small bench. He slipped onto the bench and looked up at the dinosaur skeleton. Booth walked over and sat beside him. There were people milling about here and there, but it was still fairly early, and for the most part they were alone. Seeley seemed to be thinking about something, and Booth just let him sit in thought, knowing that sometimes it's just easier to let things simmer before speaking. "Mommy and daddy took me to the zoo once. They had lots of different animals there."

"The zoo is a fun place." Booth nodded.

"I like the monkeys best."

"I agree." Booth nodded. "The monkeys are the best." He smiled slyly at the boy. Seeley looked up at his uncle and giggled.

"Does Bones know a lot about monkeys?"

"I'm telling you, Bones knows a lot about everything!" Booth said. "Hey." Booth said, watching the boy's eyes meet his. "What was your daddy up to? What's all of this bad man talk?"

There was a deep sigh from Seeley, and he swallowed hard. "Daddy said that the bad men wanted him to die. Sometimes when he would call them, daddy would yell. He said that the bad men wanted him to die because he had their money. I told daddy to just give their money back, and he said he couldn't. He said it was too late." Seeley paused for a moment. "Uncle Seeley, do you think the bad men are going to kill my daddy?"

"I know that we're going to do everything we can to make sure that doesn't happen." Booth whispered, resting his hand on the boy's head, he smiled at him.

"Uncle Seeley? Daddy told me about you."

"He did?"

"Yeah." The little boy nodded. "He said that bad men killed you. That's why I was kind of scared of you."

"But you're not scared of me now, right?" Booth asked, nudging the boy, he smiled at Booth.

"Nah." He shrugged.

"Because if daddy said the bad men got me… and they didn't?" Booth shrugged. "He's probably wrong about the bad men getting him, right?"

Seeley looked up at Booth with wide eyes, thinking about the scenario that was posited to him. He furrowed his brow and bit his lower lip, and a smile rose on his lips. "Yeah." He said, nodding. "Yeah, that's right."

They were suddenly interrupted by his cell phone ringing, and Booth pulled his phone out of his pocket, glanced to the screen and furrowed his brow. "Booth." He said, already knowing who would be on the other end of the line. "Bones, slow down." He said, glancing to the little boy who was looking up at him curiously. "Bones, calm down… just hang on… when did they find it?" He sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead with his hand. "Fire department is there… okay. Don't panic, we don't know anything until the evidence is in." He said. "Seels and I are on our way to the lab." He said, pausing. "I love you too."

He hung up the phone, and the solemn look on his face quickly switched to a more hopeful expression. The news on the phone had been far from good, but he wasn't about to scare the little boy. "Let's go on up and see Bones… I think she has some work for me to do."

"Did she find my dad?" He whispered.

"I hope not." He whispered under his breath, standing up with the boy, he took his hand, and they walked together toward the elevator.


	14. The Tempest Begins

Booth walked warily down the corridor toward the lab. He knew that Temperance was upset, but she wouldn't tell him exactly what had happened. The only thing he knew was that a body was being transported from a warehouse explosion that morning. She had made a concerted effort not to reveal any details to him, and that fact alone made him nervous. When it came to evidence, Temperance was always forthcoming, but she seemed almost frightened on the phone, and that scared him.

The glass doors opened, and he held his nephew's hand tightly as he walked with him toward Temperance's office. "Deuce." A voice called from the other end of the lab, he turned to see Ace coming toward him.

"Hey, where's Bones?"

"She's in her office," he said, approaching Booth. "She came in with some evidence from the car, and I was able to brief her with a new… who is this?" Ace asked, indicating the small boy who was walking behind Booth now, still holding tightly to his hand.

"Don't worry about him, this new case, what's going on? She called me and said there was a warehouse explosion." Booth said, feeling the boy's hand in his as he pulled himself around behind him, blocking himself from the other man. "She sounded shaken up." Booth said, walking alongside Harding on their way to Brennan's office.

"Yeah, she took one look at the bag of evidence from the scene and practically ran into her office. They're really training the Secret Service young. He looks familiar." Harding said, glancing behind Booth to Seeley, who was continuing to hide from the other man.

"Don't worry about him." Booth said again, lifting the boy into his arms, he settled his head in Booth's neck and walked along with him. "What was in the evidence bag?"

"A couple of personal effects from the victim that they found, a ring, a cigarette case, a photograph. Just random things that were on the victim. Why do you ask?"

"What else did she ask you?" Booth asked, putting his back up against Temperance's office door, his hand on the handle.

"Nothing else," Harding said, lifting a questioning eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'll tell you in a minute," Booth replied, opening the door quickly, he and Seeley were in the office with the door closed before Harding could reply.

* * *

The moment he stepped into the office, Booth could feel the tension in the room, and when Temperance looked up, he could see the fear in her eyes. "It's him, isn't it?" He whispered.

"I can't be certain." She said, looking at the items on a tray. "I just…"

"Bones, you know something, just… say it." Booth replied, holding Seeley close to him. It almost felt like a lifeline to his brother, and the fact that the boy trusted him enough to hold him through this scary situation, put him at ease somewhat.

"The woman in this photograph, and the child." She said, sliding the photo that was found closer to Booth, he leaned over the desk lightly and looked at it. She watched his eyes widen.

"Bones, that's…"

"I know."

Seeley turned his head and looked down at the photograph that the two adults were leaning over, and pointed his finger toward it. "That's mommy," he said, looking to Booth. "That's my mommy."

A gentle rap at the door brought their attention to the set of eyes looking in on them. "Should we tell Harding?" Temperance asked.

"He's going to find out everything anyway, Bones. This is his case… and if this stuff is related to the case, then…" He said, unable to finish the words, he waved Harding in. "Hey, Ace." He said, feeling the little boy in his arms suddenly push his head into his shoulder.

"Are you guys going to share with me a little bit about what's going on?" Harding asked, looking slightly amused. He was concerned by the actions of his partner in relation to the evidence he had brought, but secrecy was something that he strongly disliked.

"This is our nephew." Temperance said, catching a look from Booth that displayed his surprise at her sharing this information outright.

"I thought we were going to ease into it, Bones."

"Why ease into it, if he needs to know the truth, Booth. There's no sense in waddling around the truth."

"Waffling, Bones… waffling…" Booth said, sighing.

"Guys?" Harding asked, getting their attention immediately, his eyebrows rose. "Maybe we could get on with the conversation? This is your nephew?"

"Jared's son." Temperance said with a concerned sigh. "He left him with us a couple of days ago."

"Jared doesn't know you're alive, does he?" Harding looked to Booth.

"He found out the other day… left Seeley here with us and took off." Booth replied.

"Seeley?" Harding asked with a bit of a chuckle. "He named his kid after you?"

"Yeah." Booth glared. "The point is though… that this picture." Booth said, pointing at the evidence on the tray. "This is a picture of his mother. These personal effects, they very well might…"

"Belong to Jared." Harding nodded, completing his sentence. "The fire department says that once the fire is out, we can go down there and take a look at the scene. They are pretty sure it was arson."

Temperance turned and grabbed her bag, looking to Booth. "You can stay here with Seeley." She said, walking around her desk.

"Bones, maybe we should just let them bring the…"

"Booth." She said, stepping up to him, she placed her hand down on the boy's back and looked him in the eyes. "You let me take care of this part. I'll have Harding there, you have bigger responsibilities right now."

"Bones, you'll tell me if it's Jared, right?"

"Why wouldn't I tell you the truth?" She asked, leaning up to kiss him softly. "I will call when I know anything." She said, marching toward the door.

"Take care of her." Booth barked to Harding as he followed after Temperance, he flashed Booth a glare. "Don't look at me like that." He said, watching the two of them disappear out of the office door, leaving Booth behind with a scared little boy, and a small tray full of evidence that scared him half to death.


	15. The Winds Of Change

The morning quickly turned to afternoon, and the afternoon melted into early evening, and despite the efforts to keep himself and the little boy in his care busy, Booth could still feel each and every second passing at an excruciating pace. He had brought Seeley to the gift shop, bought him several toys and a t-shirt or two, along with a baseball cap with a dinosaur skeleton on it. He even asked Booth if 'Auntie Bones' would tell him all about 'Tyrone', and his other friends at the dinosaur exhibit.

Both went back to Booth's office, where the time passed with paperwork, phone calls, and e-mails. Booth waited patiently to hear back from Brennan, his eyes passing to his phone time and time again. When time rolled around to pick Grace up from school, he finally gave up his vigil, and pocketed his phone, and he and Seeley headed toward the school. Angela had already been there picking up JV, so Booth stayed in the car with Seeley, while she went inside to get both children. Grace barreled from the door with the force of a tornado, pulling at Angela's hand as soon as she spotted the SUV waiting. Booth climbed from the driver's seat and walked around to open the back door to the car. "Thank you for going in to get her."

"It's no problem." Angela replied. "Still haven't heard from Bren?"

"No," he replied with a gentle sigh. "But you know Bones, she's very…"

"Meticulous?" Angela offered.

"I was going to say obsessive compulsive, but meticulous works." Booth said with a smile as he helped Grace buckle herself into her seat. "We're going to go pick up Toni and Parker, then head to the diner. If you talk to Bones before I do…" He said, closing the back door of the SUV.

"I won't." Angela replied. "She'll call you as soon as she's sure that she has something. There is no way that she's going to make any guesses on this, Booth. You know Brennan when it comes to you." Suddenly, there was an eruption of chattering and shouting in the car as Seeley and Grace started to argue loudly.

Booth opened the back door. "What's going on?"

"She stole my hat!" Seeley exclaimed.

"Grace."

"I was just looking at it." She pouted, tossing the hat at Seeley, he almost dropped it, as he glared at Grace.

"Are you sure you can handle four of them?" Angela asked with a laugh as he closed the door to the SUV.

"I've been to war, Angela. I've been blown up, beaten, abused…"

"Right, but have you ever tried feeding four children at the same time with no help?"

Booth paused, and narrowed his eyes. "I think I can handle it." He said with a laugh, looking down at JV. "Besides, we all know who the mastermind is."

The little curly haired boy's smile erupted on his face as his bright blue eyes sparkled. "Me?" He asked innocently, watching Booth's eyes narrow playfully.

"Let me know when you know more." Angela said, garnering a nod from Booth as he walked around the car and climbed inside, his expression thoughtful with a sense of sadness as he drove away.

* * *

"No, no!" Antonia exclaimed as she pounded her fist on the table, only to be covered by Booth's hand as he glared at his daughter. "Sorry."

"Dad, I think that I should sit on the end, so the little kids don't run off." Parker replied, pushing his sister with his bottom as she pushed against him.

"I want to sit on the end, what if I have to go pee? What if I want to…"

"Sit down, and hush." Booth said, watching his daughter's pout as she pushed into the booth with Seeley beside her, with Parker on the end.

"Where do I sit, daddy?" Grace asked, playing with a fork and straw at the end of the table, she looked to Booth, who tugged her into his side of the booth.

"You sit right here next to daddy." He said, looking up at the waitress with a pleading look.

"Agent Booth, looks like you have a full house here tonight. Where is Doctor Brennan?"

"Mommy is putting together dead people." Grace stated matter-of-factly as she grabbed at Seeley's straw.

"Gimme that!" Seeley exclaimed, launching himself onto the table to grab the straw, Booth grabbed his daughter's hand and gave Seeley his straw. Once the boy was seated and glaring across the table at Grace, he looked up at the waitress apologetically.

"I want a milkshake." Antonia said softly. When Booth glanced to her, she smiled. "Please."

"Parker?"

"I will have a chocolate milkshake, please."

"What can I get for you, young man?" The waitress asked, addressing the little boy between Parker and Antonia.

"I dunno," he shrugged.

"I want a milkshake!" Grace squealed.

"Soy chocolate milk." Booth said, nodding toward the little girl, who sighed resignedly.

"Apple juice." Seeley shrugged.

"Alright… apple juice." Booth replied.

"I want apple juice too!" Grace exclaimed.

Booth looked up, and the waitress winked. "Got it." She said sympathetically.

"Thanks." Booth replied, as he tried to stop another fight between the two littlest at the table.

The ordering of food was just as stressful as just the drinks as the children bickered lightly over each and every nuance. Booth held it together, and Parker helped a little, acting like the big brother in the situation. Once everyone had their meals in front of them, things quieted down for a few minutes.

"Did you know that a hamburger is a dead cow? You're eating a dead cow." Grace said to Seeley as she pointed to the hamburger the boy had just taken a bite out of.

"What do you think chicken fingers are made out of, Grace?" Parker asked across to his little sister, who shrugged as she glared at her big brother.

"Not a dead cow." She replied, shoving her chicken finger into her mouth.

"She has a point." Antonia said, glancing to Parker.

"Shut up, Antonia."

"Parker, your manners." Booth said, glaring across at his son.

"Please shut up, Antonia." Parker said, pleased with his reply, he could see from the look on his father's face that he wasn't amused.

"Do you want me to punch you?" Antonia asked.

"What is with you guys tonight?" Booth asked, suddenly interrupted by the phone ringing on the table, he looked to the kids as their eyebrows all lifted.

"Mommy! That's mommy!" Gracie exclaimed, pointing at the phone.

"Right, and you know what that means." Booth said, lifting the phone to his ear. "Booth." He said, waiting for his wife's voice to tickle his eardrum, a heavy feeling in his stomach as he listened.

"Hey." Temperance's tired voice came over the line, and he could feel himself physically relax, just at the way she had greeted him. "I'm sorry it took me so long."

"It's alright." Booth replied, keeping his replies short, if just to emphasize the importance of pertinent information that was needed.

"It's not Jared." She stated immediately, a sigh escaping into the line, it was mirrored by his sigh of relief.

"The evidence…"

"Apparently, this man had some of Jared's belongings on him. Whether Jared had given them to him, or he had stolen them from him, I'm not sure. Perhaps he gave it to the man in a way to remove any recognition of himself to the men pursuing him." She said softly.

"That's a possibility." He said softly, looking across the table at his son, and daughter, and the little boy. The entire table had been quiet while Booth was on the phone, and he was grateful for the silence.

"Booth?" Temperance said over the phone as a bit of concern rose in his stomach.

"Hm?"

"Tell me why our daughter has French fries up her nose." She said, hearing the confusion in his voice when he replied.

"What?" He said, turning to see Grace grinning brightly, a fry sticking out of one of her nostrils as she grinned brightly and giggled. "Grace!" Booth exclaimed, as the entire table erupted into laughter, and Grace pointed at the window as Temperance approached the diner.

"Mommy!" Grace exclaimed, as one of the French fries fell out, and the other was plucked from her nose by her father, as Temperance tapped on the window and laughed, as she made her way toward the door, hanging up the phone as she walked around to the door.

Grace struggled against her father's hold in the booth, until finally he gave up, letting her run toward her mother at full speed, Temperance lifted her into her arms and hugged her closely. "Hey my baby girl."

"Missed you, Mommy." She said, hugging her mother close, she rested her head on her shoulder and let Temperance carry her toward the table.

Temperance walked toward the table and assessed the amalgam of meals that had been ordered, and looked to each plate as she put her coat on the hook beside the table. "It appears there are no vegetables on any of these plates." She said, raising an eyebrow as she slid into the booth beside her husband, adjusting her daughter on her lap.

"That's because we ate them first." Antonia grinned, catching her father's eye, she watched him smile lightly.

"I'm sure that's it." She said.

"French fries are potatoes, Bones. Potatoes are vegetables." Parker said, scooping a hefty amount of ketchup with his fry. "Ketchup is made with tomatoes, and tomatoes are fruits!"

"Tomatoes are vegetables." Antonia argued.

"Not this argument again." Booth rolled his eyes. "Just… eat your food." Booth said, his nerves already frayed, his patience was beginning to wane rapidly.

"Hi, Auntie Bones." Seeley said with a timid wave.

"Well, hello there, Seeley." Temperance said with a smile, she looked up just as the waitress brought her salad over. "Thank you so much." She said with a sigh of relief.

"It's no problem, Doctor Brennan. Enjoy your meal."

* * *

Dinner was much more relaxed now, and the bickering was brought down to a dull roar. Antonia discussed her school science project, while Booth and Parker talked about football, and hockey, while Gracie snuggled with her mother and listened intently. Seeley watched the family around him and seemed to fit right on, finding a sense of belonging in this large family. His conversation didn't go unnoticed, and he and Temperance discussed the museum and what he had done that afternoon with Booth.

When dessert was nearly finished, and not a word had been said about the case, Temperance caught Booth's wary eye on her, and knew what he was waiting for. "I am going to have to go back to the lab." She said, dabbing her lips with her napkin as Gracie blew bubbles in her apple juice as she sat on her lap. "Angela has offered to take Grace for the night."

"I get to have a slumber party with JV?" Grace asked excitedly. "The little boy isn't coming, is he?" She asked, looking across at Seeley, and back to her mother.

"Just you." Temperance said, confused by her daughter's question.

She let out an excited squeak as she hugged her mother around her neck, and stood up on the seat next to her. Having been a premature baby, Grace was still fairly small for her age, a petite little thing, with big blue, sparkling eyes. Her excitement was infectious.

"Angela figured I couldn't handle them all, so she offered to take one off my hands, I got it." Booth nodded knowingly, though his voice held a tinge of humor.

"She offered to help out in any way she could. Taking Grace with her is a very good idea." Temperance said, leaning to kiss him on the cheek. "I am going to take her to the lab with me, and Ange will pick her up there. I love you."

"I love you too." He said softly. "You're going to talk to me about this case, right?"

"I will." She nodded. "Stop worrying so much, we'll find him." She said, kissing him again. She turned and found that Grace was already in her coat, trying to zip it up, eager to get to the lab. Temperance turned and helped zip her coat up. "I will see all of you at bed time." She said, turning to look at the three children on the other side of the table listening intently. "Please behave for your father." She said, standing up, she pulled her coat on and lifted Grace into her arms. "I love you."

A chorus of 'I love you' was heard from the two children, and Seeley gave her a little wave, as Temperance turned and walked from the diner with Grace.

Temperance walked with Grace in her arms, her eyes flickering to the diner window to see Booth laughing with Antonia, Parker, and Seeley, and she sighed in relief that they were all getting along. Grace, however was cuddled tightly into her mother. "Hey, little one… you seem sad." Temperance said, walking toward the Jeffersonian, she blocked her daughter from the wind as she walked.

"No." She whispered.

"Come on, Gracie K." Temperance said, the personal nickname she had for her daughter made her giggle.

"Daddy took that little boy to meet Tyrone, but didn't take me too." She pouted. "Tyrone is _my_ friend."

"Well, you were at school, and daddy was watching Seeley while mommy worked."

"Still not fair. Tyrone is _my_ friend. He's mine."

"Don't you believe that you're being slightly selfish? Thousands of children come to the museum see Tyrone, just like you do."

"Not with _my_ daddy." She sniffled.

"Seeley is scared though, we're trying to find his daddy."

"Maybe you and daddy need to work together better." Grace sighed. "And daddy should take me to see Tyrone."

"I think we should tell daddy this, don't you?"

"Yes." Gracie sighed. "Mommy, are we keeping him?"

"Tyrone?"

"No!" She let out a giggle. "No, the little boy. Is he gonna be my brother?"

"No." Temperance said seriously. "Seeley is your cousin, he is not your brother. But he is part of our family, and I think that maybe you should call him by his real name now."

"I dunno." She shrugged.

"Can you do that for mommy, please?" Temperance asked. "Can you call him Seeley?"

"Silly?" She asked in an incredulous tone.

"Close." Temperance said with a laugh, walking up the steps of the Jeffersonian, she pulled her key card out. "We'll keep working on it, okay?"

"Okay, mommy." She smiled, giggling against her mother, as they entered the security entrance of the building together.


	16. Face to Face

Once everyone had been settled in bed, Booth had a chance to sit on the couch, put his feet up on the coffee table, and close his eyes against the rapid fire thoughts that were keeping him on edge. He turned on the television and silently flipped through the channels, his eyes not watching the screen, but the clock on the wall above it. He watched as the second hand slowly flicked each and every black line on the clock again and again, and could feel a swirling anxiety in his belly.

It was nearly eleven, and he had heard nothing from Temperance. Parker had gone to bed on his own, and Antonia had insisted on 'ten more minutes' for at least two hours worth of time. Seeley was cuddled comfortably in Grace's bed, sleeping as soundly as could be expected, and all Booth could feel at this point was numbness. He flicked the button on the remote again and again, almost as if he was just trying to ensure that he was still awake, trying to ensure that he was still alive.

When the phone rang beside him, he felt himself jump at the sound, and in an instant, the phone was against his ear. "Booth."

"So formal." Temperance's voice sounded tired, but slightly amused, and when she heard the sigh of relief from her husband, she fought the tug in her chest at his worry. She heard his intake of breath. "No, I'm not on my way home yet."

"Who is there with you?"

"Who do you think?"

"Your invisible friend?"

"I don't have invisible friends." She snapped back, a smile now in her voice. "Not anymore."

"That's sad." He said, pausing for a moment before he turned solemn. "What do you have for me, Bones?"

"It appears this body we found in the building was a vagrant. The blast was simple dynamite, nothing too extensive, and it seems it was meant simply to hide the remains of the victim." She said, taking a deep breath. "The items that were found that belonged to Jared, however they were not worn or held by the man, but simply in a pile of other objects that appeared were either discarded or stolen. It is possible that these items were left as a means to throw off the suspects in pursuit of him.

"Possible." Booth said softly. "Bones, you don't do possible. Conjecture is not your thing."

"No."

"Stop worrying about how I feel about this, and help me find Jared." Booth said, his tone was dark and haunted.

"But I care about how you feel about all of this, Booth. I care that you're hurting."

"If that is the only reason that you're still at work…" He paused, unable to finish his sentence.

"I am at work because this is my job, Booth. Regardless of where your brother is, this is still a homicide, and I do have to investigate it." She snapped quickly, feeling the tension in the silence over the line.

"I should go." He said, keeping his voice low and even. "I think Seeley is awake."

"Booth, don't use the children as an excuse to avoid talking to me."

"I'm not." He said. "If you want to talk to me, talk to my face, not over the phone." He snapped, pressing the button on the phone, he let it smack on the arm of the couch before he started pressing buttons on the remote, ignoring the buzzing of the phone beside him.

After a moment or two, it stopped, and then simply let out a double buzz to indicate that there was a message. His eyes were glued to the television, the frustration he felt was making his chest feel tight, and his teeth ground together painfully.

"Daddy?" A small voice sounded from upstairs, and he looked to see Antonia peering down at him, her eyes focused on his.

"What are you still doing up? You have school tomorrow." He asked, trying to sound stern, but letting a softness that she recognized slip through the cracks in his armor.

"Were you shouting at mommy?" She asked, knowing the answer to the question, she just wanted to see if he'd tell her the truth.

"Mommy and I were having a discussion, and you should be in bed." He said, leaning forward, he rubbed his face with his hands for a moment and looked over at her.

"Are you mad at mommy?" She asked.

"No, I'm mad at your uncle Jared."

"So you yelled at mommy because you can't yell at Uncle Jared?" She asked, approaching him slowly, she shrugged as she attempted to understand her father's logic.

"You really don't know how to mind your own business, do you?" He asked, holding his hand to her, he gathered her into his lap.

"Mommy is my business." She said, giggling slightly at her father when he tickled her.

"No, mommy is my business." Booth replied. "You don't have to worry about mommy. She is a big girl, and she can take care of herself, and rest assured, she will be taking care of me too." He said, glancing to the phone when it started to buzz again.

"That's mommy." Antonia said, looking to the photo on the screen.

"It is."

"You should answer it."

"I need a minute." He said, looking into her inquiring eyes.

"For what? To pout?"

"I am not pouting." Booth argued.

"You look like you're pouting." She replied, tipping her head to get eye contact with her father. She reached for his phone, and he pulled it out of her reach. "Mommy is going to be very mad that you're ignoring her."

"Go on up to bed." He said, kissing her nose.

"But Daddy…"

"Bed." He replied. "I love you."

She scowled as she pulled out of his arms and stood up. Her eyes were on her father's and she glanced to the phone. "Are you going to call her back?"

"I will call her back." Booth nodded.

"You promise?"

"Goodnight, Antonia." He said, taking her hand. "I love you."

"I love you too." She replied.

"I promise I will call your mommy back." He said.

"And say you're sorry?"

"Goodnight, Antonia."

"Goodnight, Daddy. I love you too." She said, leaning forward, she kissed his nose. She then turned and flitted toward the stairs, dancing her way up each step, until she was out of sight.

He watched her disappear onto the landing , and his phone buzzed again, indicating another message. It then buzzed again, indicating a text message. He sighed resignedly and looked at the text, and the words that filled the screen made him sick to his stomach.

**'Going to the hospital. Russ is hurt. We can talk face to face later. Goodbye.'**


	17. Red Herring

Temperance's shoes clacked down on the linoleum floor with each and every step. Her stomach was churning with the unknown, and her heart was pounding in her chest at a rapid pace. She approached the nurse's desk and paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts when the phone call came, that only now was she questioning what they had said to her.

* * *

_Temperance set her phone down and glared at it for a moment, knowing that her husband was just irritated with his brother, and simply venting. It didn't mean she had to like it, and it didn't mean she was going to accept it. She picked up the phone and dialed his number again, waiting for him to answer. She scowled when his voicemail picked up, and left a curt 'Call me, please' before hanging up and setting her phone on the desk. _

_She turned back to her work, typing up the reports and reviewing the x-rays of the victim, glancing to her phone now and then in the hopes that Booth would come to his senses and call her back. She knew that he was stubborn, and she was very aware of the lengths he'd go to prove his stubbornness. She typed a few more words, and her phone buzzed. She lifted it to her ear and sighed, expecting to hear her husband's voice on the line. "Brennan." She said tiredly._

_"Doctor Brennan?" A woman's voice echoed through the line, and Temperance straightened at her desk._

_"Yes?"_

_"This is Doctor Abrams at George Washington University hospital's emergency department, and we have a man here who says he's your brother? There is no ID on him, but he's quite insistent. This is the phone number that we have on file for you."_

_Temperance made no attempt for further identification; her mind was already on the person in the hospital. Russ had been in trouble before, but it had been years since he had been involved in anything that would send him to the hospital. Her mind rolled through the possibilities as she stated that she'd be there soon, hanging up the phone. She immediately called Booth again, forgetting that he was still in his self proclaimed solitary stubborn fit, and growled as soon as the voicemail picked up. She shouted a message into the voicemail, and then grabbed her bag, letting her thumb dance over the keyboard of the phone, sending Booth a message to let him know where she was heading, with a very obvious undertone of irritation evident in her typed words. _

_Before she had even gotten to the parking garage, her phone was buzzing angrily at her to answer, and with a flip of her wrist, it was to her ear. "Brennan."_

_"What is going on, Bones?"_

_"I am on my way to the hospital." She stated. "I'm sure that the text message that I sent was sufficient enough for you to catch on to that."_

_"That's enough sarcasm, thanks." Booth replied. "What's going on with Russ? What happened?"_

_"I didn't get any information yet. They just called and said there was a man who claimed to be my brother in the emergency room. They didn't give me any more information other than that, Booth."_

_"Bones, this doesn't make sense. Russ has been straight for years, he doesn't even live in Washington anymore."_

_"Maybe that's why he wanted them to call me and not Amy. I'm not going to question it, Booth. I'll be at George Washington University Hospital, okay? Stay with the kids."_

_"Bones!" _

_"Stay with the kids. I'll call you when I find out more." She said, hanging up the phone, she almost let a smile slide onto her lips for the quick hang up on him, for giving him a dose of his own medicine was always satisfying. But at the same time, she felt a sense of dread rising up from her belly at the thought of her brother being at the hospital with no identification, injured or worse. She pocketed her phone and slipped into the car, quickly making her way toward the hospital._

* * *

"I am Doctor Temperance Brennan. I was told my brother had been admitted to this hospital this evening."

"Name?"

"Russell Brennan." She said, watching the woman type something into the computer, she looked at the screen suspiciously and back to Temperance.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Brennan, but that name doesn't come up."

"Doctor Abrams was the woman that called me." Temperance replied, getting a courteous nod from the nurse, who picked up the phone and dialed a number. She spoke into the line for a moment, and then nodded as she hung up.

"Someone will be up to take you down to his room in a moment." She said, noting the confusion on Temperance's face. "He didn't have any identification and didn't give any other ID other than the fact that he was your brother, that was why we didn't have his name in the system."

Temperance nodded, glancing to the waiting room chairs, she smiled and sat down on one of the uncomfortable chairs. She pulled the phone from her pocket and read through the several text messages from Booth, sighing resignedly as she lifted it to her ear just as he called again.

"Brennan."

"You haven't called me yet." He replied.

"I haven't called you, because I haven't been in to see him. Booth, you sound more rattled about this than I am."

"Because I feel like everything is falling apart." He sighed into the phone. There was a long pause, and a gentle sigh now. "I'm sorry I hung up on you."

"We don't have to discuss it, Booth."

"I just wanted to get the apology out there in the open, so you know that I am sorry."

"I appreciate your apology." She said, looking up to see the nurse coming in her direction. "I should go, they're going to bring me to Russ' room. I'll call you soon."

"Right." He said, and the phone disconnected.

* * *

Temperance walked with the nurse down the hallway, and listened intently to the list of injuries they were claiming her brother had. It wasn't until right now at this moment that she began to feel a suspicious twinge in her belly.

Booth would say her gut was talking to her, but she preferred to call it anxiety.

They stepped around the corner to the room, and the nurse reached up and took hold of the curtain. "He's sleeping right now, but when we brought him in, he was quite vocal." She said softly. "We just wanted to get a positive identification on him."

"I understand." Temperance said, watching as the man in the bed came into full view. However, the man in the bed wasn't her brother, not her blood brother, at least. The man in the bed, sleeping peacefully through bruises and bandages, was none other than her brother in law, Jared Booth.


	18. What Once Was Lost

Temperance stood at Jared's bedside with her phone in her hand. She stared down at his battered body and simply watched his chest rise and fall. She turned to face the nurse, and sucked in a breath. "This is my brother in law, not my brother." She whispered.

"You can give us a proper ID on him?" The nurse asked.

"Jared Booth." She whispered, watching as the nurse wrote down the name. "He may even have records on file."

"No." A groan came from the bed, and Jared's head turned toward the two women. His eyes opened slightly, squinting as if the light was too bright. "Tempe, no." He whispered.

"No what, Jared?" Temperance asked, approaching the bed. She looked back to the nurse, and then to the man in the bed. "What's going on?"

"Don't tell them who I am, don't identify me. They'll find me." He groaned.

"Who will find you, Jared?" Temperance said, looking down at the man, she took his hand as he tried to focus on her. "Jared, look at me."

"I'm trying. Where is Seeley?" Jared whispered, as if it were a secret, but loud enough for the nurse to glance to Temperance.

"We'll be okay." Temperance nodded to the nurse. She smiled a polite smile and left the two alone, closing the door firmly behind her as she left. "Jared, what is going on?" Temperance asked quickly, her frustration and exhaustion was evident in her voice.

"Seeley. Where is Seeley?"

"He's sleeping at my home, Jared. Where do you think he is?"

"Not my son, my brother. He's alive."

"Yes. Jared, you need to tell me what is going on. You abandoned your son at my home, drunk. We tried to help you, and you just took off. What is going on?" She asked, trying to remain stern and serious, her eyes were filled with concern, but she knew she had to remain strong. "Jared?"

"My brother." Jared said, breathing heavily, he was quickly becoming emotional. "My big brother is alive."

"Jared, you need to focus. Focus on me, Jared." Temperance said sternly, and his eyes settled on hers. She reached out and tenderly wiped a tear from his cheek, and was startled slightly when his hand came up to meet hers.

"Don't bring my son to see me, Tempe. You have to protect him."

"I don't know what I'm protecting him from, Jared. Who are these people that are after you?"

"Where is my car? They can identify my car, Tempe." He said, suddenly panicked, he sat up, and watched her shake her head.

"We had it brought to the impound yard. Your note made your brother very nervous, and he didn't want it sitting out in front of the house. We have children to protect, Jared. Things have been very complicated until recently. Now who are these people looking for you?"

"I owe them money, a lot of money. I was… selling product for them."

"Drugs?"

"Yes." He said, sucking in a deep breath.

"So you're a drug dealer now?"

"No! No… I was… just driving it for them, trading off trucks."

"You just said you were selling for them, now which was it? Were you trafficking or were you dealing?" She said, her anxiety level was rising with each second.

"One of the trucks I was driving got smashed up pretty bad, and I had to leave it behind. They want me to pay them back for the product, plus interest. I didn't have the money for them."

"Who, Jared?"

"I'm not saying any more, Tempe. The less you know, the better. Just don't bring Seeley here, don't bring him here, because I don't know if I can leave him again." He said, emotion stuck in his throat as he watched the tired look on her face. He could see the anger boiling under the surface of Temperance's stare and stopped. "I'm not saying any more."

"Then tell me why I shouldn't have the police in here right now sending your ass off to jail." She glared at him as she leaned over him. "Tell me why I shouldn't have your son sent off to foster care." She said, the bluff was shielded carefully by her cold exterior.

"You wouldn't."

"I've already got a call out to social services, Jared. I can't care for your child as well as my own. I don't have the time to give him, I don't have the resources."

"You have the resources! You have the money!" Jared whispered angrily, showing Temperance exactly what he was capable of despite his pathetic show of 'pain' and 'suffering'. She had hit the nail on the head, and she was insisting on continuing with deconstructing his lies.

"I'm not talking about money, Jared!" She growled, keeping her voice low. "I'm talking about emotional support! I'm talking about you driving around drunk with your five year old son in the car, abandoning him with strangers! I'm talking about him mourning for not only his mother's death, but you leaving him behind! I'm talking about a child here, Jared! Not a goddamned repossessed car!" She said through gritted teeth.

Her near tirade was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing in her hand, and without looking; she turned and pushed it to her ear. "Brennan." She said, her voice was full of emotion and anger, and she knew exactly who was on the other end of the line.

"Bones, what's going on?" Booth asked immediately.

"I need you." She replied. "Can you get here?"

"I'm already on the way. What's going on? Is Russ okay?"

"It's not Russ, Booth, its Jared." She replied.

"Jared?" Booth asked.

"Yes. George Washington University Hospital."

"I'm on my way, Bones."

She sucked in a deep breath. "Please hurry, I'm not okay. And if you don't get here soon, he's not going to be okay either, because I am afraid that I'm going to do something that I might regret." She whispered into the line.

Booth let out a sigh of relief. "I'll be there soon." He said softly. "I love you."

"I love you." She said, hanging up the phone, she turned to face Jared once again with a steely glare. "You had better think of a really, really good solution for all of this before Booth gets here, Jared." She said. "Because he's not going to be handling you with kid gloves, trust me on that." She said, turning toward the door, she strode out of the room confidently, in search of her husband.

* * *

Booth pulled the car up to the outside of the hospital just in time to see Temperance pacing in front of the doors. She looked up as the SUV approached, and walked quickly toward it, leaning toward the driver's side window as Booth opened it and allowed her to lean in slightly when he stopped. "You brought the kids?" She asked, looking surprised to see the three sleeping children in the back of the SUV, in various stages of drooling.

"Of course I brought the kids, Bones. I wasn't going to leave them home alone." He said in a whisper, nodding toward the passenger seat. "Get in, and I'll park the car, and go inside to talk to Jared."

"I already talked to Jared, Booth. I can tell you what he told me." She said definitively, watching as confusion crossed his expression and she tipped her head pleadingly. "Booth."

"You don't want me to go in there?"

"You… are correct." Temperance nodded. "I fear if you go in there and hear what Jared has to say, that you will only succeed in becoming violent." She said, noting that her husband's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Violent?"

"Yes." She replied. "I myself had to hold back from striking him." She replied honestly.

"Bones, I'm going to have to talk to him at some point." He said, patting the seat next to him, he nodded toward the passenger seat. She paused for only a moment before walking around the SUV and getting into her seat. He pulled the truck around to a parking space, and shifted it into park, and glanced to his wife, who was looking back at Parker, Antonia and Seeley, sleeping soundly in the car seats.

"How could he just leave that sweet boy behind?" She whispered, her husband's hand now carefully sliding around hers, they both watched the children sleep.

"Because he trusts you, Bones." Booth whispered. "Tell me what happened."

"They found him unconscious in an alley. He had been mugged, beaten, left to die." Temperance said softly. "The nurse said he had a lot of alcohol in his blood, and that probably didn't help him defend himself, but when they brought him in and he woke up, he started asking for me. He wouldn't give them his name, he was belligerent and uncooperative."

"When is Jared ever cooperative." Booth said, turning to sit back in his seat, he looked up and sighed heavily. "So what made you want to hit him?" Booth asked, turning his head to look at his wife, the fresh tears in her eyes made his heart ache for her as she watched the children sleep.

She looked to him and her mouth opened slightly, and it appeared she was having a little problem saying what the issue was exactly. "Drug trafficking." She said softly. "He was transporting drugs for… these men he claims are looking for him."

"Drugs?" Booth whispered fiercely. "Jared?"

"That's what he said. Apparently, one of the transports was compromised, and now he owes them money, plus interest… he has nothing. He refuses to see Seeley. He says that they are both in danger."

"So he put his child in danger, and then passed him off to us, so now we're in danger too." Booth nodded. "Very thoughtful of him." Booth said with an irritated grunt.

"He's afraid you're going to beat him up." Temperance said, watching Booth nod his head as he grabbed the handle of the car.

"Well he's wrong about that." Booth replied, leaning across to kiss Temperance tenderly, his eyes held a dark intensity. "I'm going to kill him." He said, climbing from the seat, he waited to see if Temperance would stop him, believing that he had any intention to actually murder his brother. He realized quickly that she wasn't going to stop him. Her trust was with Booth completely, and she knew that he'd protect his family, no matter how truly messed up things had gotten.


	19. Taking Sides

Temperance let the car idle for several minutes, and watched as her husband disappeared through the hospital doors. She focused on the children in the back seat for a moment, each sleeping soundly despite the upheaval from their typical sleep schedules. She turned the car off and locked the doors, turning her head to continue watching the children. She watched as Antonia shifted in her sleep, her brow furrowing as she cuddled into the car seat beside her, the blanket that Booth had covered her with was slipping, and Temperance reached back to carefully pull it back up.

Parker yawned in the farthest seat back and his eyes flickered open, catching the eye of Temperance, his brow furrowed and he looked out the window. "Where's dad?" He yawned, stretching a little bit.

"He went inside to talk to someone." Temperance replied, catching the boy's eye, she glanced to Seeley, and lifted her finger to her lips.

"Dad said it was Uncle Russ." Parker whispered, noting that Temperance as shaking her head. "It's…?" He said with no words, nodding toward the sleeping boy, and Temperance nodded. "Is he okay?"

"He's alive, he's talking. Your dad is going inside to see if he can come up with any answers."

"Wow. I wouldn't want to be him right now." Parker said with a shake of his head.

Temperance smiled, and glanced to the other two children and back to Parker. "I know exactly what you mean." She replied. She looked to the clock and sighed at the late hour, and then back to Parker, who had tipped his head back to the seat and was staring sleepily out the window toward the hospital. "I think he's going to find that he's more relieved that his brother is alive, than angry about everything that has happened."

"Dad always finds the silver lining." Parker said with a lazy smile, closing his eyes to relax. Temperance turned back around to look out the window and wait, allowing her mind to wander toward the case that she had back at the lab. She worked out a few details, and sorted through her thoughts, and before long, she had fallen asleep in the passenger seat.

She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep, but it couldn't have been long, and it was interrupted by a gentle tap at her window. She was startled from her sleep, but when she saw Booth standing outside the car, she immediately pushed the 'unlock' button on the door panel. He climbed into the car and looked at her sleepy expression, leaning across to kiss her lips tenderly.

"Are you ready to talk about this stuff face to face?" She whispered, catching the sorrow in his eyes. He nodded solemnly against her, wrapping his arm around her, they hugged across the center console. He buried his face in her neck for a moment, allowing the sigh of relief he had been holding to escape his lips. "Let's get them back home, they don't have to go to school tomorrow. It has been a really, really long week. I think we could all use the sleep."

"Okay." He whispered back, kissing her as he pulled from the hug, he turned the key in the ignition. It wasn't until he put his hands on the steering wheel to back out that she noticed the fresh cuts across his knuckles, and the raised and swollen skin of his hands dark with blood. He could see her eyes imploring him for an answer, and without regret or remorse he looked into them. "We'll talk face to face." He whispered, offering her a supportive smile, as he drove them toward their home, the silence between them warm and inviting, as neither offered to begin the next round of conversations.

* * *

She asked no questions when they arrived home and he lifted their daughter from her car seat delicately.

He said nothing as she carefully lifted the small boy from his own seat, none the wiser that he was being pulled from one place to the next, simply dreaming as he held onto her tightly.

She said nothing to him when Parker glanced questioningly between them, and she dropped a kiss on his forehead and whispered him off to bed.

He spoke not a word as they both walked up stairs one after the other, and each entered a separate room, with a separate child, tucking them each in comfortably, giving each a gentle kiss.

Neither spoke as they stepped into the hallway again, each closing the door to the room of the child they had tucked in, and he turned toward Temperance, his hand extended to her. She took his wrist and lifted his hand into view in the darkened hallway, her eyes focused on his bruised and battered knuckles. He reached around her with his other arm and buried his face in her shoulder, bringing his other hand to his chest as he hugged her. She was sure she felt a silent sob into her skin, and when his arm tightened around her she was certain that she hadn't bee n mistaken.

"It's going to be alright." She whispered. "It will be alright." She said, rubbing his back slowly, she felt him start to straighten his back, and knew that he was trying to compose himself. "Let me help you clean your hand and bandage it. I don't want it getting infected." She said, tipping her head she kissed his ear. She turned then to give him his moment of weakness, knowing how he hated her to see it staring into her eyes, naked and raw. "I'll get the iodine." She said softly, almost flippantly as she disappeared into their bedroom, waiting only a few moments, before he followed her inside.

* * *

She carefully cleaned the wound, bandaging his knuckles as he sit on the edge of the bed, his pride wounded and festering as she lined the open cuts in his skin with antibiotic ointment. "You really shouldn't have punched a brick wall." She said dismissively. "You know they have no way of fighting back. You should have punched Jared." She looked up into his eyes and saw a slight humor appear and disappear quickly.

"If I punched Jared, they would have kicked me out." He whispered.

"Did Jared tell you any more than he told me?"

"I asked if they knew he had a son, he said he didn't think so. He said that he kept Seeley a secret, he didn't want the kid getting involved."

"So Seeley is safe."

"He's with us. He's safe."

"What are you going to do with Jared?" She whispered, wrapping his hand with gauze.

"If he doesn't tell me anything by tomorrow, I'm having him arrested."

"On what charges, Booth?"

"On anything that I can make stick until we get out of him what we need. Drug trafficking? Drunk driving, child abuse? Neglect?"

"He left his son with someone that he trusted, Booth."

"Are you on his side, or mine?" Booth grunted, pulling his hand back, he could see the hurt in her eyes.

"I'm on Seeley's side." She replied, standing up. She held her hand out to him and waited for a moment as his eyes cleared. "I'm going to worry about you until the day you die."

"Even then you're going to think about my bones." He said with a sarcastic smile, his eyes narrowing playfully.

"You know me very well." She said, allowing him to pull her toward him, she tumbled onto the bed, and he crawled across to wrap his arms and leg around her, capturing her solidly against him. "I love you, Seeley Booth." She whispered into him, holding him tightly.

"There's two of us now, you know. Which are you talking about."

"That's for me to know." She said, listening to his low laugh, as they relaxed against one another and drifted off to sleep.


	20. Broken Glass

The shrill ring of Temperance's phone broke the blissful slumber of the two knotted souls lying on top of the mattress. Her hand flopped over the bedside table and finally found the source of the sound, and pulled it to her ear. Her voice was low and she spoke for several moments, listening to the voice on the other end of the line. She allowed her eyes to skate over to the clock, and noted that it was just past nine in the morning, and she was surprised that her daughter hadn't woken up to demand to go to school, regardless of her exhaustion. She hung up the phone and pushed her arm over her husband, depositing it on the side table.

Booth groaned at the movement, finding that he had been perfectly content wrapped in his wife's body, sleeping through the remainder of the night peacefully. He always felt safer when his arms were around her, sleeping or awake. "Why are you moving around?" he asked her, feeling her hand on his arm as she pulled it away from her gently, obviously in an attempt to roll out of their bed.

"Methylamphetamine." She said with a sigh, letting her eyes fall on the sleepy expression on his face.

"No thank you, I haven't had breakfast yet." He replied, allowing a slow smile erupt on his lips as she glared playfully.

"That was what they were creating in the warehouse when it exploded."

"That was Hodgins?"

"Yes." She said, moving toward the bathroom. "I have to get to the lab."

"Bones, you said we were taking today off." Booth called after her, climbing from the bed, he looked down at himself and realized he was still wearing the same clothes from the day before. He yawned, and followed after her. "Bones, we said we were going to take the day off, let things settle." He said, watching her prepare to take a shower.

"We let things settle, we slept in. It's nearly nine thirty in the morning."

"That's not sleeping in." He argued.

"That was plenty of sleeping in." She said, tossing her shirt at him, she disappeared behind the shower curtain and turned the water on.

"Workaholic." He mumbled under his breath as he turned around to leave the bathroom, he heard the shower curtain rustle and she was peering from behind it.

"Also, Angela is bringing Grace back home, and picking me up. You may want to make yourself look a bit more presentable." She smiled and disappeared behind the shower curtain, letting out a simple laugh when he tossed a washcloth from the sink at the shower curtain, and walked out of the room.

* * *

Once both Temperance and Booth were showered and Parker, Antonia, and Seeley were downstairs eating breakfast, there was almost a sense of normalcy that shifted through the house. Booth heard the doorbell ring and turned to walk toward it, swinging open the door, he watched his daughter shoot past him at a run toward the kitchen.

"Well hello to you too." He said, with an irritated glance, he turned to Angela. "Good morning."

"Hey, Booth." She smiled.

"Hey, Ange." He said, glancing back to the kitchen, he looked back to Angela.

"So we're trading? I'll take original sizeBren, and you can take fun size Bren." She smiled, as Temperance stepped from the kitchen holding Gracie in her arms. The two of them did look strikingly similar, their dark brown hair, and those startling blue eyes. Grace held her mother tightly and chattered off her adventures with JV, and questioned intensely what had happened with 'Silly' while she was away.

Temperance chided her once again for calling him by something other than his name, and focused on Angela in the doorway. "I'm just about ready to go."

"You gotta go? I just got here." Grace sighed.

"A busy mommy's work is never done." She said, kissing her little girl on the cheek, she handed her over to her daddy, and picked up her bag. "I will be back before dinner." She said to Grace. "I love you." She said, kissing Booth on the cheek. "You be good for your daddy, got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Gracie smiled with a wave.

"I love you."

"I love you better, mommy." She smiled, watching her mother quickly disappearing out the door with Angela.

Satisfied with her mother's departure, the little girl wiggled from her father's grip and ran for the kitchen, without another word to her daddy.

Booth followed after his daughter, happy to join the children in the dining room for the remainder of their breakfast, when his phone rang in his pocket. He sighed as he answered, expecting to hear Temperance's voice on the other end of the line, informing him that she had forgotten something. "Booth." He said into the line, sighing.

"Seeley." Jared's voice filled the line, and Booth stopped mid-step.

"Jared?"

"I'll talk, Seeley. I'll talk, but only to you." He said softly.

"I will be there in twenty minutes." Booth said, hanging up. He marched quickly into the dining room, where all four children looked up at him curiously.

"What's going on, Dad?" Parker asked, seeing the look of determination in his father's eyes as soon as he stepped into the room.

"I have to go to the hospital to see your uncle Jared." Booth replied.

"Do you need me to keep an eye on the girls?" Parker offered.

"I can take Gracie with me." Booth said, smiling at the little girl as she looked up curiously.

"That's not fair, Daddy. She got to spend the whole night at Big A's house with JV. I want to go with you." Antonia replied with a sigh, looking to her sister. "Parker can watch Seeley and Gracie, right Parker?"

"I can watch Gracie, Dad. She's lower maintenance than big mouth over there." Parker laughed when Antonia's jaw slacked open.

"Daddy!" Antonia exclaimed. "Daddy, did you hear what he said?" Antonia squeaked.

"I heard what he said." Booth sighed, giving his son a glower as Parker smiled into his cereal, avoiding eye contact. "You think you can keep the two wild things tamed?"

"We'll watch some cartoons and play." Parker shrugged. "You won't be long, right?"

"Just an hour or two." Booth replied. "Alright, kiddo, get ready to go." Booth said to Antonia, who leapt from her chair and skittered out of the room to get ready.

"You be a good girl for your big brother." Booth said, kissing Gracie on the top of the head.

She looked up at him with her big blue eyes and smiled wickedly. "Me? I'm always a good girl, daddy." She smiled demurely.

"Seels, are you alright here with Parker?" Booth asked. The little boy nodded, and with that, Booth thanked Parker and left the room to hurry Antonia along so they could leave.

* * *

Once Booth arrived at the hospital, it was nearly a half hour later. His gut was churning with the unknown, and also with the known, weaving through his mind. He held Antonia's hand, and together they walked through the hospital toward Jared's room.

"Daddy, is Uncle Jared a mean man?" Antonia asked.

"He's not mean, a little bit on the careless side, but not mean." Booth said softly. "He has a good heart, he just doesn't always think with his brain."

"What does he think with?" She asked. "Mommy says the brain is how you think."

"How about… he doesn't use all of his logic skills to their full potential. Does that sound right?"

"Okay." She nodded. She paused, just as they came upon his door, she tugged on Booth's hand. "He yelled at you on the front yard the other day, daddy." She whispered.

Booth could see the concern in her eyes and hated that she felt so awkward about this whole thing. He crouched down and looked into her brown eyes. Her head tilted curiously, much in the same way her mother's tilted when she was trying to understand something. "Remember when I was invisible?" He asked, watching her head bob up and down in an understanding nod. "And remember mommy thought I was in heaven?" Her reply was another nod. "Do you remember what mommy did when she found out I wasn't in heaven?" He whispered.

"She yelled." Antonia replied. "A lot!" Her eyes widened as she nodded, and she looked surprised. "Oh!"

"That's right." Booth said softly.

"So he knows you're not really in heaven?"

"Right." Booth whispered. "Are you ready to go inside?"

"I guess." She shrugged, eliciting a slight eyeroll from her father as he stood up, took her hand, and led her quietly into the room.

As soon as they stepped inside, Antonia became slightly shy, moving behind her father's leg, she kept her hand in his, and the man in the bed turned his head slightly. "Seeley." He whispered. "You didn't bring my son, did you?" He asked, noticing the small hand in his brother's, he squinted.

"No. I brought my daughter." He said softly, watching a slight flash of confusion. "Seeley is at home with Parker." He said.

Antonia looked around Booth, and he responded by lifting her into his arms. She gripped her daddy tightly, looking down at the battered man in the bed, she felt an intense rumbling in her tummy, and gripped Booth's shirt a little tighter. "Your daughter?"

"This is Antonia."

"Antonia? Yours and Tempe's kid? How old is she? How did you…?"

"It's not important, Jared."

"She looks like Mom. Her eyes… Hi, Antonia, I'm your Uncle Jared." Jared said, his voice was strained, and it still seemed weird to him, introducing himself to his brother's child. "I can't believe you and Tempe have a kid together."

"I don't like you." Antonia said clearly, her brow furrowed thoughtfully as she glanced to her father. "I don't like him."

"You don't have to like him." Booth shrugged, he looked to his brother.

"Geez, Seeley, why don't you just shoot me and put me out of my misery."

"Don't tempt me." Booth replied. "Now stop wasting our time, and tell me what you wanted to tell me."

"Crystal Meth." He said softly.

"I already know that much." Booth said. "Now I want names."

"I can't give you names."

"You can give me whatever I want, or I'll have your ass arrested. I have enough on you right now to put you away for a couple of years, Jared. Connection to a warehouse fire, this accident you claim you were in. I want details. Why did you start doing this kind of work? I know you were hard up for money, but why drugs?"

"I didn't know that was what I was transporting, Seeley." Jared said, watching Booth shake his head.

"He's lying." Antonia whispered.

"Adult conversation, kid." Booth whispered.

"Sorry."

"You're lying." Booth said sternly. "If my seven year old daughter can see through it, then I can see though it, Jared."

"I knew I was transporting something illegal, but they told me they were just stolen car parts. They didn't tell me that the car parts were holding drugs."

"I want names, Jared." Booth growled.

He was just about to set Antonia down when his phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and pressed it to his ear. "Booth." He said, listening for a moment, he turned away from Jared and took a cautious step. "Hello?" He said, pulling the phone away, he noticed the number and his stomach began to twist. "Parker, is that you?" He said. "Parker?" He said again.

"Dad." Parker's whisper was over the phone. "Dad, someone is trying to break in. I called the police, I'm trying to be brave, Dad! Dad…please help!" Parker pleaded.

"Who is trying to break in? Where are you? Where are Grace and Seeley?"

"They're here with me… we're in your room… Dad! Hurry! I think they're in the house!" Parker said.

There was a shuffling, and Booth tried again and again to get his son back to the phone, but it dropped away from the boy's ear. Booth started to pace.

"Parker! Answer me! Parker! Parker! Answer me now!" He exclaimed into the line, not caring that the little girl in his arms was gripping him so tightly, or that his brother was repeating his name. "Parker!" He exclaimed.

He heard a scuffle over the line, and Parker shouting for someone to stop. He could hear his son struggling and Grace and Seeley screaming. His blood had run cold, and he began to hyperventilate, then he heard the gunshot.

The line went dead.


	21. Nothing Can Prepare You

Antonia covered her ears and closed her eyes tightly. She could feel the rough movement of the car, and though she tried to drown out the sound, the screaming siren on her father's car still burned her ears. She hated the sound of sirens, she hated when her father drove this way, she hated knowing that something very bad was happening around her, and she had no idea what it was. She could feel the tears prickling her eyes, and wanted to call out to her father to slow down, but knew that he would never put her in danger if there wasn't something on the line.

She was afraid mostly because she had no idea what was going on. One second her father was talking to his brother, and in the next, she had been lifted from the floor in one fell swoop and her father was running with her in his arms toward the car. There was no pause, no explanation. He nearly tossed her into the car, shouted for her to buckle her seatbelt and started the siren on his car. She was sure that his foot never let the pedal have air between it and the floor board, and the moment they screeched up to the front of their home, she knew something had to have happened. There were three police cars out in front of the house, and a cautious police officer approaching the house. Her father leapt from the car and ran toward the front door, shouting for the officer to stay back, that his children were inside, that he had also gotten a phone call, and that he simply needed them for back up. He identified himself, and the officer acted as if he already knew who he was, then backed him up accordingly.

The longer Antonia sat there, the more she trembled with fear. Her father had forgotten that she had been in the car, forgotten to tell her to stay put, forgotten that she would be just as wrought with fear as he was, only she was alone, she was unknowing. She pressed her face against the glass, her hands on either side, as she watched her father approach the door that was already open. She closed her eyes tightly, clenching her fists as she began to cry violently against the window of the SUV.

* * *

Booth moved deftly toward the open door, his eyes focused on the police officer beside him, their guns drawn. "My daughter is in the car. I need someone to stay with her." Booth said, his eyes focused on the other man, he nodded and mumbled something into the radio on his shoulder. "Ready?" He said, and the officer nodded, and with that they headed in through the door.

Immediately Booth began to call out to Parker, for Gracie and Seeley. His voice was met with silence. "Parker! Parker it's Dad! Answer me!" He called as he looked around at the mess that was caused by the intruders. He immediately headed upstairs to his bedroom, where Parker said he was calling from. "Parker! Parker!" He called. "Gracie girl! Daddy is here! Gracie? Seeley?" He called, out of breath. His voice was hoarse from either emotion or from screaming, and his heart was pounding so hard in his ears that he was surprised he could concentrate on walking. The officer at the bottom of the stairs said he'd secure the rest of the house, and Booth nodded as he turned the corner. "Parker!" He called.

His blood ran cold as he looked at the scene in his bedroom. The mattress was pulled awkwardly to the side, blankets and pillows were strewn about, and it almost looked as if it had been used as a shield. The bedside lamp lay smashed on the ground, and as Booth rounded the corner of his bed, he could feel his stomach seize. His son's sneakers were visible, his body wrapped tightly in a sheet, unmoving. "Oh my God, Parker." He whispered, as he approached the still, wrapped body, a portion of the white sheet soaked with blood. "Get an ambulance!" He screamed, unwrapping the boy from his shroud.

Suddenly, the boy's body not only began to move, but it began to roll violently. A grunt of anger and pain was released from the blanket, as Booth tried desperately to soothe him. "Parker, it's dad. Parker, calm down! Parker!" Booth exclaimed as his son's face came into view. His nose was bloody, his mouth gagged with a pillowcase, Booth cradled the boy and pulled the gag from his mouth.

"Grace!" He exclaimed suddenly, arching his back in his father's arms, his tied hands burned as he screamed and shook violently. "Fuck, Dad! Grace! The bastard took Gracie!" He screamed, as his anger turned to sobs. "I tried to stop them! I tried to stop them, but they just grabbed her and Seeley! Dad!" he screamed.

Booth cradled his son and pressed him against him as he untied the boy's hands. Pulling the rest of the sheet from his body, he lifted the sobbing boy into his arms and into the hallway. Parker was not a small boy anymore, but with the adrenaline coursing through Booth right now, he was certain he could carry anything. He screamed out for his daughter as he tore through the hall to her bedroom. "Gracie…" He whispered as he looked to her room, noticing that several things had been moved around, his eyes flashed to the wall as his wailing son sobbed in his arms.

Scrawled across the light pink wall in red crayon, the crude handwriting read.

_**'Jared 4 the kids'**_

Booth could feel the room shaking, the light flickering, and becoming darker as he took several deep breaths. There was a movement behind him but he couldn't react, and after a moment, he felt someone pull his son from his arms, still sobbing, screaming for him as Booth fell to his knees. "Booth?" The police officer said, obviously familiar with him, familiar with his family. "Booth, where is your wife? We can call her… where is Doctor Brennan?"

His eyes skated across the room, rolling over his daughter's belongings as he tried to focus, tried to think, tried to breathe, anything. He could see her face in his mind, his wife's eyes, his smile and tender heart. It was that moment that his wife's voice pushed into his memory, and when all seemed to be crashing down around him, he felt her strength. With that, he pushed himself from the floor and turned to the officer.

"I'll call her." He said, watching the officer nod his head. "Search the house, look for anything. I need my family." He said, as he turned sharply and rushed down the stairs toward the sound of the screaming ambulance, to his son and his sobbing daughter, pledging to himself and his family that everything would be made right again.


	22. Gut Feelings

Temperance rubbed the back of her neck with her hand again, feeling an uncomfortable burning in her skin as the nervous tick was realized. Naturally as soon as she realized it, she tried to identify the reason for it. Thoughts of the past week were flashing through her mind, and she could feel a sense of anxiety rising up through her chest. She stood over the bones on the table of their warehouse fire victim, and for some reason felt a slight shortness of breath.

"Bren, are you okay?" Angela asked, noticing that her friend was looking a bit pale, she looked over from where she was working on the reconstruction for the man.

"I'm fine." She said, swallowing hard. "I just… I think I am a bit dehydrated, I need to get a glass of water." She said, stepping toward the stairs quickly, she nearly stumbled when she saw the group of people coming through the glass doors. Her breath got caught in her throat as she saw her husband leading several police officers, and an EMT into the lab. Beside him was Parker, tears streaking his face as he held his hands up, covered in plastic sandwich bags, and Antonia gripping her father tightly, not a sound emitted from her lips. "Booth?" She managed to push through her lips as Parker came rushing at her the moment he saw her.

She made it to the bottom of the stairs, just as the boy collided with her. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" He screamed as he held her tightly, her arms instinctively wrapped around the boy and she held him for a moment, her eyes never leaving those of her husband.

"What happened?" She asked, still unable to catch her breath. "Booth, what happened?"

"Grace. They took Grace and Seeley." Booth replied with a crack in his voice. He held Antonia tightly, who still refused to look up from where her face was buried in her father's neck.

"Who took Grace and Seeley?" She asked, her voice rising as she found the strength she was holding back. "Who took them? Why is he crying? Why are his hands wrapped in plastic?" She exclaimed, though in her head she was whispering, she was actually screaming at him. Antonia's hands clamped harder against her father's neck. "Booth! What is going on?"

Instead of answering, Booth turned his head. "Hodgins?" He called, watching as the curly haired man appeared around the corner from his office, and he stopped in his tracks at the scene before him. "I need you to take Parker with you." He said, exhausted and very quickly breaking, his eyes went back to Temperance. "I need you to clean his fingernails, he… I went to see Jared, Bones." Booth whispered. "I went to see him, and I left Gracie and Seeley with Parker. They broke into the house."

"Who broke into the house, Booth? The men looking for Jared?"

"Yes." Booth said, reaching forward, he touched his son's head as he looked directly into Temperance's eyes. "They want Jared for the kids. Parker, you need to go with Hodgins."

"I don't want to go," he said, turning to face his father, his bagged hands still gripping Temperance as he snapped at his father. Booth turned to Hodgins and started to talk to him rapidly about everything, explaining to him about how Parker had scratched the perpetrator and there was probably evidence under his fingernails.

Temperance was feeling lightheaded suddenly, as reality started to crumble down around her. Her ears began to ring, and her face quickly flushed. She tumbled back a bit and Booth caught her movement out of the corner of his eye. "Bones, are you okay?"

"No." She whispered, stumbling backwards a bit. "No, I'm not okay!" She screamed, making everyone jump. "I am not okay! Where is Grace?" She shouted.

"We're going to find her, Bones." He said, trying to remain calm, he took her shoulders, and flinched when she pushed away from him. Temperance's breathing was uneven suddenly, and the room was getting dimmer, and her ears were ringing louder. "Bones, you have to calm down. Bones, breathe…"

Parker stepped back when he felt her start to fall back. "Dad, she's going to fall!" He shouted.

The floor seemed to fall out from beneath her, and Parker's grip released, just as the room went black, Temperance landed in a heap on the ground.

* * *

When the ringing in her ears was replaced by a dull pounding in her head, Temperance woke to her husband's eyes looking down at her. She was no longer on the floor, but lying on her back in her office, the comfortable cushions of her couch below her. Antonia was no longer in his arms, and she felt an intense sense of panic send her sitting upright, her head nearly colliding with that of her husband. "Grace!" She exclaimed.

"Bones." Booth said, trying to get her to calm down, she was already breathing heavily again, and he just needed to look into her eyes. He needed to calm her down. "Bones, please listen to me. You have to calm down."

"I am not going to calm down. I will not calm down." She exclaimed at her husband. "Where is Parker?"

"Parker is with Hodgins, Antonia is with Angela. Bones, look at me, we have to talk."

"Why weren't you there? Why weren't you at the house?" She asked, sitting up quickly, she felt dizzy and gripped the couch tightly. Her teeth gritted as she tried to keep some kind of control. "Where were you?" She asked. She stood up and faced him, feeling ridiculous for falling victim to her physical weakness.

"Bones, please." He said, his own panic was enough to make him beg for her understanding. "This is killing me."

"Why did you leave Parker with Grace and Seeley, Booth?"

"Because I thought they would be safe! Jared said they didn't know where he was! He said Seeley was safe!"

"Well, apparently he's not! He's not safe, and now these people have Grace too? Booth, what happens if she has a seizure? What happens if something happens to her, Booth? What if they…" She covered her mouth as the thoughts flashed through her mind, and her sentence couldn't be finished, there were far too many possibilities. "What are you going to do?" She paused. "What are we going to do?"

"We have to go talk to Jared. The police are probably over at the hospital now." Booth replied.

"We're giving him up for them, Booth." Temperance said angrily.

"Bones." Booth said, a warning in his response, he knew that she was speaking out of anger and fear. "Bones, we can get the kids back, and save Jared."

"Jared doesn't deserve to be saved." She snapped. "He did this, he should pay the price for what he's done! Our child shouldn't have to fall victim to your brother's stupidity!" She exclaimed. "We turn your brother over to them, and we get those children back!"

"Bones, that's not how it…"

"Stop!" Parker exclaimed from the doorway. "Just stop fighting." He exclaimed. "Bones, it was my fault! I turned off the security alarm to get something out of the garage. I saw the bad guys pull up in a beat up van, and I ran to the house. I couldn't get to the panic button on the alarm. I thought they would go away if I just locked the doors. If I didn't turn off the alarm, then the police would have come, Bones. They would have been there, it's all my fault, so please just stop yelling!" He exclaimed, tears rolling down his cheeks as he flailed his arms in the air. "We need to find Gracie, Dad… and if Uncle Jared can help us, then we need to get to Uncle Jared." He said.

"Parker, this isn't your fault." Temperance said, watching the terror in the boy's eyes. "This isn't your fault."

"I feel like it's my fault." He said, stepping farther into the office, she wrapped her arms around him and held him to her, her eyes on Booth as he watched her warily.

"We need to get to Jared, now." Booth whispered.

* * *

The silence in the car was deafening. Temperance knew that the police were working on the case, but she also knew that the first 24 hours were critical. It had only been two hours since Booth had discovered the kidnapping, but it felt like it had been days. Temperance sat in the passenger seat looking into the back seat, watching Antonia staring out at nothing through the window. "She hasn't said anything since we found out." Booth whispered.

"Antonia?" Temperance said softly, trying to coax her daughter from the self inflicted solace she had pulled herself into. "Baby, look at mommy, please." She said softly. Antonia refused to look at her mother, refused to look at anything other than the window.

"Hey, Bones is talking to you." Parker poked, eliciting no response from the girl, he tugged at her sleeve. "Toni?"

"Don't worry about it, Parker. She'll be okay." Temperance said, looking at Booth, who glanced to her out of the corner of his eye. "She'll be okay." She said, touching her daughter's leg, just to simply let her know that she was there. Parker looked at Temperance with an expression of sorrow in his eyes that she couldn't even describe. "You were very brave today, Parker." She said softly.

"But I couldn't protect them, Bones." He whispered.

"They overpowered you, they were bigger than you, and there were more of them than you. You managed to fight as hard as you could, and you had the presence of mind to scratch at them, right?"

"I didn't really think about it, I just…"

"We have found bad guys with less to go on, Parker." She said. "I'm going to stick with saying you're brave. This is not your fault." She said, glancing to Booth. She lowered her voice so that the children wouldn't hear, leaning her head on his shoulder across the console. "How are we going to do this, Booth?"

"I'm still thinking on that." He said, though she could tell by the look in his eyes, that he was trying to figure out a way to get information from his brother without bringing him within an inch of his life.

When they arrived at the hospital, Booth pulled Antonia from her seat and into his arms. She came willingly but said nothing, her body limp and her eyes blank and unseeing. He exchanged a glance with Temperance, who looked rattled beyond anything he had ever seen before. Parker climbed out of the back seat and immediately grabbed her hand. He knew that she needed support, and she knew that he needed hers.

They walked down the hallway together, and Booth paused as they approached the door. He turned and faced Temperance. "I want to kill him." He whispered under his breath, his eyes were full of anger and pain. "I just want to go in there and kill him."

"Just focus." Temperance said, placing a soothing hand on his. "This isn't your fault, Booth." She was forcing herself to breathe slow, steady breaths, but her voice was sincere. "No matter what I said back there, this is not your fault."

From behind them, they heard the sound of quickly falling feet onto the floor. They turned to see Harding coming in their direction. "I heard what happened." He said, slowing as he got to the family. He could see the devastation in their eyes. "You're alright?" He asked Parker, setting a hand on the boy's shoulder. Parker looked up at him solemnly and shook his head. His lip was trembling, and he released Temperance's hand, and turned for the other man, wrapping his arms around him as he started to cry again.

"Go talk to Jared. I'll watch the kids." He said, reaching for Antonia. "Go." He said, taking the unresponsive child from her father's arms. "I'll stay right here. It's okay." He said. "Go."

Temperance thanked him with her eyes, unsure of what to say to him, she grabbed her husband's hand. She leaned forward and kissed her little girl's head, closing her eyes against her hair for a moment. "Mommy and daddy will be right out, princess. Stay with Ace and Parker." She felt so shaken at that moment, that she barely felt the tug to her arm from Booth.

"Bones?" He said, grabbing the handle on the door, she focused on him, and allowed him to open the door, and usher them into his brother's hospital room.


	23. Ace Up His Sleeve

**A/N I apologize for the wait, and I ask that you please don't focus on that in your comments. I have been suffering from writer's block as of late, and any words you can spare will be appreciated. There are plans for this story, and with the others. None will be left behind, I assure you. Enjoy.**

* * *

Ace held Antonia tightly against his body, leaning against the wall beside the door as he waited silently for Temperance and Booth to come back into the hallway. The little girl was pushing into his body tightly, her head buried in his neck as she closed her eyes and breathed slowly against him. He rubbed her back gently with his hand, trying to work through everything that he had been told, everything that had happened, and deal with the facts that were swirling in his mind.

Angela had called him frantic, and between her emotional pleas and the fearful shakes in her voice, he learned of what had happened to Seeley and Grace. She told him that Booth and Temperance had insisted that Parker and Antonia go with them to the hospital, in an attempt to keep them in their sights as much as possible. As he rocked the little girl in his arms, he slid down the wall, pulling Parker against him as the boy stared off in a traumatized stupor, allowing the contact though it offered little consolation.

Ace kept his attention to the door beside him, hoping to hear something, anything, even if it were the sound of Booth exerting his fear and frustration to his brother in a physical manner. His attention was piqued when he heard the sharp and forceful sound of Booth's voice in the room, and Temperance's voice followed. The girl holding him must have heard their shouts as well, for her grip tightened on him. "It's going to be okay, Toni." He whispered to the little girl.

"No it isn't." Parker whispered, keen to his surroundings despite the look in his eyes. "You don't know it is going to be alright. You don't even know what is going on." Parker said, turning his attention to his stepfather.

"We're going to find Gracie and Seeley, Parker." Harding said, his voice was forceful and honest, and his eyes did not betray the fear of the words he spoke. He had known that it was wrong to say something that he couldn't prove, but he also knew that he wouldn't rest until that little girl was back in her mother's arms again.

Ace put his arm around Parker and pulled him to him, trying to console the grieving boy. He knew the guilt that he was holding in his heart, he knew it all too well, and it was killing him to know that the sweet boy beside him was feeling that pain. Parker allowed him to hold him closely, if only for the support he knew that he needed at that moment, and for those following moments at least, he felt safe.  
Their attention was suddenly interrupted by the sound of footfalls coming in their direction as a security guard, and a nurse ran for the door they were sitting against. "What's going on?" Parker asked, pulling from Harding's embrace.

"I'm not sure." He said, standing up, as the door swung open beside them, and the sound of Booth's voice was louder and even more forceful.

"Dad's killing him, isn't he?" Parker asked, and he seemed serious about it.

Booth's voice became louder as the security guard pulled him from the room, followed by Temperance, trying to calm him. She looked to see Harding holding her daughter, and held her arms out to the little girl as she need fully peeled the little girl from his grasp. She turned to her husband, as he pulled his arm from the security guard's hold, his attention turned to his wife as she pleaded with her eyes for him to stop and assess the situation carefully. His eyes responded with a plead that they needed to do something quickly.

"What's going on?" Harding asked, currently free of the little girl, he could step up to Booth, without fear of traumatizing the little girl any further. Temperance moved down the hallway just a bit, hoping to pull herself from the anger in her husband's voice.

"They kicked me out. He had me kicked out." Booth growled to Harding.

"Did he tell you anything?"

"No." Booth said, though there was something more he wanted to tell his friend, he glanced to Temperance as she paced, and then back to Ace, opting out on further explanation.

"I'll take care of it." Harding said, turning sharply, he walked toward the door.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" The security guard asked, moving close to the door, Harding pulled his badge from his pocket.

"Special Agent Christopher Harding." He said, letting the badge glisten in the fluorescent lights. "Jared Booth is wanted in connection with the death of Joseph Martin, a drug trafficker that was found murdered in a warehouse explosion earlier this week. I need to ask him some questions."

The security guard eyed Harding for a second or two, and checked the badge again, and then shook his head. "Go in..." He mumbled, turning toward Booth, he glared, and walked away.

Harding reached for the door handle, and felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see his friend's weary stare. "Ace."

"We are going to find them... and at this moment in time, my vote is giving up Jared for them."

"Don't tempt me, Ace." Booth said, holding his arm in his hand, there was a moment of silent conversation. "He doesn't know you're working with Bones. You know that he hates you."

"I'm thinking of working that as an advantage." Harding said with a sarcastic smirk that made Booth shake his head.

"Ace, Deuce…"

"And Jared is the Joker." Harding shook his head. Harding put his hand on his friend's shoulder and nodded. "I'm going to find your little girl, Booth... and I am going to do anything and everything I can to make that happen." He said, turning sharply, he yanked on the handle of the door and entered the hospital room.

As soon as the door opened, Jared's head turned. His eyes widened at the sight of Christopher Harding standing in his hospital room, and his eyes narrowed. "What the hell are you doing here?" He growled.

Harding said nothing as he stepped up to the bed. His eyes were dark and angry, and his jaw clicked with a stern and silent hatred for the man lying in the bed. "I'm here to find my partner's child." He growled.

"Get out of here. I don't know anything."

"You know plenty, you selfish piece of garbage." Harding said, reaching for Jared's hospital gown. "I am here to make your life a living hell until you tell me where I can find those kids." He said in a low, angry growl. "Even if I have to hand you over, piece by piece to those people, Jared... I will. Because right now you're worth more dead to us than alive. Do you understand?" Harding asked, his hand twisting around the hospital gown, the fabric choking him as Harding's hot breath raked across his skin, his voice spitting venom, his eyes burning angrily.

"Why the hell should I tell you anything?"

"Because if something happens to those kids, Jared. You are going to be the one that goes to prison for it... for a very, very long time." He paused. "If you live that long."

"They won't hurt them." He said, unconvinced by his own exclamation. "They just want the money."

"They want you, Jared."

"They want me to get them the money! Tempe can get them the money, she won't! It's her fault. She was supposed to be..."

Before Jared finished his sentence, he was hanging off the bed upside down. A gun pressed against his neck as the monitors were ripped from his body.

"You're going to tell us everything. Do you understand? You're going to leave Temperance out of this, you're going to take full responsibility for all this, and you're going to tell us every, last fucking detail, do you understand?" He growled, pushing the gun further into the other man's neck. "Because if you don't... I am going to send you to these people... sans the little brain matter that you obviously have in your bulbous head. Are we clear?" He growled. "Are we clear?" He growled louder.

"Yes! Yes!" Jared exclaimed. "I'll tell you!"

"Tell me what?"

"Everything! Everything!" Jared exclaimed, feeling the gun jamming into his neck. Harding cocked his gun, just to ensure that Jared knew that he was serious, watching the other man's Adam's apple slide up and down as perspiration began to appear. After another moment, Harding pulled him back onto the bed and slammed him back into the pillow. "You're a goddamned psychopath!" He exclaimed, trying to catch his breath.

"No." He said, his eyes stating the same thing, as they narrowed angrily. "I am true to my word." He whispered. "Don't test me." He said, clicking the safety on his gun, as the nurse opened the door and walked inside. Harding slipped his gun into its holster before she saw it.

"What is going on in here?" She asked, rushing to the patient, as Harding glared at him over his shoulder.

"I... I was falling off the bed." Jared stammered. "My... friend here helped me back up." He said. He saw Harding's hand touch the gun in the holster, and looked to the door. "Can um... can you go get my brother and his wife?" He whispered to the nurse. "I need to talk to them."

"I'll send them right in." She said, finishing her task, she glanced to Harding and noted that he was still just glaring at her patient. She quickly excused herself and left the room, leaving the two men alone once again.


	24. Don't Know What You've Got

As soon as Harding stepped out of the room, Booth's eyes were on his. The cold stare that he had reserved for Jared melted away, and he approached Booth quickly. "Hey… funny thing happened in there." He smiled. "I think your brother has had a change of heart after all."

Temperance looked up from where she was standing down the hallway a bit, her brow furrowed. She rubbed her daughter's back and looked between the two men curiously. Booth's eyebrows raised and then he narrowed his eyes at his former partner. "What did you say to him?"

"It wasn't what I said." He shrugged. "It was more of what I didn't say." He said, letting his finger push his jacket to the side slightly, where Booth spied the butt of Harding's gun. Booth immediately embraced his friend in a strong hug, pulling from it just as quickly, he gave his Harding a grateful nod. "I roughed him up… go finish the job." He said, glancing to Brennan. "Temperance?"

"I'm going to stay here with the children." She replied, catching Booth's eye, he knew that she simply didn't want to lay eyes on his brother for as long as possible. Booth looked to Harding.

"I'll stay with her." Harding replied.

"Thanks." Booth replied, turning for the room, he glanced back at his wife for her nod of approval. He mouthed his love for her in her direction, and quickly disappeared behind the door.

* * *

Once on the other side of the door, Booth brought his eyes upon his younger brother, and tried his best to keep his intense rage at bay. He stopped before proceeding, unsure of exactly what had happened between Jared and Christopher moments before, and wanted to just take pause to collect himself.

"What is he doing here?" Jared asked, his eyes flicking to the door and back to Booth.

"He's my brother." Booth snapped, guilty of nothing but the truth. "He was the one that found me, found the people that tried to kill me. He's the one that has been at my side through this, been there for Bones, for my kids. He's the real brother here." Booth replied.

"I thought you were dead!" Jared growled.

"So you just leave what family you do have behind and run off on a bender? What about Pops? You haven't even asked about Pops once!"

"I ran off and started my own family!" Jared shouted back, losing his breath in the process, he was becoming increasingly emotional. "When my wife died, it nearly killed me. Seeley is the only thing that kept me going." He said, lowering his voice.

"So you're just going to let him go like that? You're just going to let some stranger kidnap your kid, my kid… knock my son around, and you're going to just be fine with that?"

"I am not just fine with it!" Jared screamed.

"Then tell me where the hell they're keeping those kids, Jared! Because from my experience, they don't have much time!" Booth exclaimed.

"I don't know where they're keeping them, Seeley! If I did, don't you think I would be out of this bed looking for them?"

"I'm not convinced that you would be, Jared." Booth snapped, his eyes sharp on his brother's, as he fought his desire to throttle the man in front of him.

* * *

Harding stood outside the door for a moment after Booth disappeared inside, and turned to face the woman several feet away. Her child was clinging to her tightly, the little girl's eyes closed, as her mother gently rubbed her back. He took a step toward her as she turned, and she stopped mid step, her eyes flashing to the boy who was sitting on a small bench in the hallway, staring at a spot on the floor.

"Parker?" Harding said, getting the boy's attention, he looked up at his stepfather and caught his eye. The fear was fading quickly as he approached the bench, taking Temperance's hand as he walked past her.

"Christopher." She protested softly, but allowed him to lead her to the bench, where he insisted that she sit beside the boy.

"There is no use tiring ourselves out." He said, tugging a bit on Antonia, until she turned in her mother's arms and faced him. "Listen." He said, crouching before the three of them. "We're going to stick together on this, okay? No arguing, no fighting… Grace and Seeley need us to stick together."

"What did you say to Jared, Christopher?" She whispered.

"I didn't give him a choice, Temperance."

"He won't talk." She whispered.

"He will talk." Harding nodded. "I need you and Booth to work the Jared lead, okay? Hodgins and Angela are already working forensics, and they left for the house to see if they can pick up any evidence that the police and FBI may have missed."

"And what are you going to do?" Temperance asked.

"I'm going to investigate the warehouse explosion."

"Is Jared really wanted in the murder of that man?" She whispered.

"He's a person of interest." Harding admitted. "I know that you don't believe he had anything to do it, and I don't really think he's capable of it…"

"I don't know what he's capable of." She whispered back, the hard determination quickly replacing the fear of a mother's nightmare. "And frankly, I don't care what you do to get my baby back to me. Just get my baby back to me." She spoke slowly.

Harding's eyes fell on Parker, and she could see that he had been listening closely to everything that he and Temperance had just discussed. "Parker, we're going to need your help too, okay?"

"How am I supposed to help? I am the one that couldn't save them. It's my fault that they were taken."

"If it was anyone's fault in all of this, Parker, it's your Uncle Jared's fault." Harding whispered. "But the blame game isn't going to get this thing figured out, is it?"

"No."

"Then I need you to help us with identifying these guys, okay? Anything they might have said… if they called one another by name, or if they slipped up and left something behind. Hey, scratching them was a good idea… that's a start." Harding said, watching the boy's eyes brighten. "Once we know who we're looking for, we might be able to find someone who knows them, or saw something. We owe it to Gracie and Seeley to do everything we can to find them, right? Because we're not going to get any farther if we sit here and feel sorry for ourselves, right?"

Parker watched Harding for a moment, and glanced to Temperance. She raised her eyebrow at the boy and he looked back at the man before him. "Right." He said, swallowing the fear in his throat. "You come with me, and we'll go back to the lab. We have some work to do, right?"

"Yeah." Parker said, nodding his head. "Bones?"

"It's okay, go with Christopher." She nodded. "We'll be okay."

Parker stood up and leaned over Antonia, dropping a kiss on her forehead. She caught his eyes and watched him for a moment. "I'm sorry, Toni." He whispered.

"I'm glad you're okay." She whispered, releasing her hands from her mother for a moment, she reached her arms out to Parker, giving him a tight embrace. "I love you."

"I love you too, Toni." He whispered, feeling her arms pull back, he gave Bones a quick kiss on the cheek. "Let's go." He said to Harding, a sense of determination in his eyes.

"Temperance?"

"It's alright. I'll wait for Booth, and we'll meet you at the lab." She said, watching him narrow his eyes as he scrutinized her response for a moment. "Thank you."

"Of course." He said, dropping a friendly kiss on her cheek, he turned and felt Parker pulling his arm. "Call me if you need me." He said, watching her nod her head. He dropped a kiss on Antonia's forehead, and held out his fist. It took her a second but she raised her fist, bumping it against his in solidarity, he finally felt that leaving would be alright, and with another tug from Parker, they were on their way.

* * *

"So what do you want to do?" Jared asked, resigned to take his brother's advice, he watched Booth stare at his hands for a moment.

"It's not what I want to do, but what we're going to have to do." Booth replied. "You're going to come with us. We're checking you out of the hospital into our custody, and you're going to go with us to the lab. You're going to tell us everything you know, people you've met... names, places you've been... anything you can remember, got it? You'll stay with either me, Bones, or Ace... got it?"

"Seriously? You're going to have Ace babysit me? Seriously?"

"He'll either babysit you or shoot you. Take your pick." Booth said, lifting an eyebrow. He glared at his brother, just as his phone rang, he lifted the phone to his ear without glancing at the number. "Booth."

"Have you considered our offer?" A rasping voice came over the line.

Booth stood up, and turned toward the door. "Where are they?" He exclaimed, his heart pounding in his ears. A sharp pain shot across his chest. "Where are they?" He exclaimed.

"Not so fast. You keep your end of the bargain, and we'll keep ours."

"I want proof that they're alive!" He exclaimed. "Let me talk to them!"

"They're a bit indisposed at the moment. Keep this line open, make your arrangements. I'll call back in an hour." The voice growled, and the phone clicked.

Booth grasped the phone tightly in his hand. "Son of a bitch!" He shouted, seeing the horror in his brother's eyes. "They wouldn't let me talk to them." He growled.

"They may not be with him. He probably had his goons snatch the kids. Where did they call from?"

Booth looked at the number and cringed. "Parker's cell phone. They must have grabbed it when they took the kids. We can trace it." He said, a hopeful tone in his voice.

"He probably threw it out after that call." Jared said, trying to pull himself from the bed. "He won't be sloppy after this." He said, twisting his face in discomfort as he started to pull the monitors from his body. His eyes were closed as he pulled his legs from the bed, and he suddenly felt a strong arm on his. He looked up to see his brother watching him with a sympathetic glance.

"If I knew where to look, I would have found you, Jared." Booth whispered.

"I know." Jared nodded. "After you died, I didn't want to be found." He said, allowing his brother to help him from the bed, he moved toward the bathroom to get ready, and Booth left the room to find Temperance.


	25. Till It's Gone

Temperance sat in the back seat with Antonia, her hand clasped around her daughter's in a show of support and love, while Jared sat in the passenger seat beside Booth. Temperance kept her thoughts to herself, choosing instead to watch the rear view mirror and gaze into her husband's eyes when he would look up. The silent conversation between them was wrought with angst, terror, and most obviously, anger. Booth knew that she was less than pleased to be within sight distance of Jared, and from the look in her eyes, he knew that it wouldn't be safe to leave the two of them alone together for any length of time. It was not to say that he wasn't angry at his brother, but he knew that a calm approach to the situation was best, and fratricide would have to take a back seat to saving the two children.

Jared could see the intense stare down between Temperance and his brother, and through some sense that he accumulated through the years, chose to remain silent. He wanted to apologize for his behavior, he wanted blame it all on his own fears, but knew that actions were going to have to speak for him in their absence. His selfishness had once again taken control of his personality, and fear for his son's safety had caused him to say things that he didn't mean, but forgiveness was not something that he could see in his near future.

Booth turned into the parking garage for the lab, his hand hovering over his handcuffs for a second before he decided that the chances of Jared running off in his current battered state were slim. He opened the back seat as Antonia unbuckled her seatbelt, and let her daddy lift her from the back. His hand stretched over the seat for a moment, capturing Temperance's. She offered him a knowing glance, and her lip curved slightly in appreciation for his support, before she slipped her fingertips from his grasp and slid from the car. She grabbed the passenger door and opened it, avoiding eye contact with the seat's occupant, and waited for Jared to climb from the seat before she slammed it closed and turned for the elevator.

The ride up to the lab was bathed in a thick and loaded silence, a tension that almost made breathing unbearable. Antonia clung to her father tightly, and Booth's eyes bore into Temperance's as he watched her jaw clench time and again, her arms heavy at her side. Her gaze broke from her husband's the moment the elevator door opened, and her feet carried her quickly toward the lab in a quick march that was impossible to keep up with.

Booth let Jared walk in front of him, and felt his daughter's hands digging into his shoulders as he stepped down the hallway toward the lab, Temperance's form having long since disappeared through the glass sliding doors. "God, I haven't been here in forever." Jared said, stepping into the lab.

"That's enough reminiscing." Booth said, pushing his brother with an open palm, indicating that stopping was not an option. They walked through the lab, and Booth could hear Angela talking rapidly on the other side of the platform with Temperance. He was grateful that she had found her friend, and spied Angela hugging her tightly as they walked toward the office. He walked in behind Jared and gave him a light push toward the couch, watching as he sat down heavily.

"We're not going to find them sitting in the lab, Seeley."

"Shut up." Booth replied, walking toward the door, he looked back and forth to see if Ace was around, and then turned back toward his brother. He took two steps inside, and closed the door behind him. "Listen." He said in a low voice, his hand gently rubbing his daughter's back as she clung to him. "Do not speak unless spoken to, do you understand?" He asked, holding his finger out to his brother. He kept his voice low and even, and Antonia knew that controlled voice very well. Booth then stepped to the corner and crouched, pulling the little girl from his arms, he set her on her feet. She closed her eyes defiantly. "Toni... look at daddy."

"No." She whispered.

"Please?"

"No." She said, trying to pull herself back into his arms, he held strong against her, and watched a tear escape her eye as she whimpered. "Daddy, please." She said, her tone a heartbreaking whine that was on the verge of an explosion. "Daddy!"

"Daddy needs you to listen."

"No!" She shouted, she grabbed his shirt, her fingernails digging into his skin. "I want my sister!" She screamed. "Find Gracie, Deuce! Find Gracie, please, Deuce!" She screamed.

"Toni, please." Booth said, feeling his resolve quickly falling to pieces. His nerves were fraying at an alarming rate, and those eyes staring back at him full of pain and fear was going to be his final undoing. "Please, Toni! Please listen... we're going to find her, okay. We're going to find her."

"Don't let me go, Deuce! Don't let me go again!" She screamed, grabbing at him, her face red and wet from the tears, she began to pound on his chest, sobbing into his neck. "Don't let me go!" She felt him embrace her, his hand resting on her head as he tried to block out the memory of his oldest daughter's kidnapping.

"Never." He whispered.

"What's going on?" Temperance's voice exploded in the room, and Booth stood, still holding Antonia against him.

"I think it hit her all at once what was going on." Booth replied. "Did Angela find anything?"

Temperance nodded, her icy glare settling on Jared for a moment before she motioned to Booth to follow her. He cradled his still sobbing daughter against his chest as he glanced to his brother. "What do we do about...?"

"Ace." Was all Temperance said, reaching for her daughter, the little girl turned into her mother's embrace naturally. She held her expertly in her arms as she stepped backwards from the door, followed by Booth. As soon as Booth stepped out of the room, Harding stepped in, walking directly toward Jared.

* * *

Ace sat across from the younger Booth brother, his face was serious and his jaw set as his teeth ground slightly. "Just great. They send you in to babysit me."

"I'm not a babysitter." He replied. His voice was low. It wasn't exactly threatening, but there was no question about the seriousness of his tone. "Booth is waiting on the phone call, but I need you to tell me anything that you know."

"I don't know anything." Jared replied, gritting his teeth.

"I can see right through you." Ace growled. "You know something relevant, and I can't understand why you're holding back. Your son is in their hands, Jared. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"They won't hurt them." Jared replied defiantly. "They just want me."

"That's a load of bullshit, Jared." Ace spat.

"Why the hell do you even care? You have nothing riding on this. You have…"

Ace replied sharply. "Just talk."


	26. Suicide Squeeze

Antonia held her mother tightly on their journey through the lab toward Angela. She had calmed considerably, and felt safe in her mother's arms. She could feel a tension radiating from her mother, and a silent strength that she was succeeding to comfort her frightened child with. Her outburst in her mother's office had frightened her almost as much as her fear for her baby sister. And though her father thought he understood the reason for her reaction, he had only grazed the tip of the iceberg. She had been carted from hospital to home, from home to the lab, from the lab to the hospital, and then directly back to the lab once again. She hadn't been fed, or even had a chance to go to the bathroom, but for the most part those thoughts were the farthest from her mind. Instead, her fragile and sharp mind focused on her missing sister. She imagined the darkness of her own kidnapping. She remembered the scents, the pain, the cold darkness of the locker she had been tossed into.

She could feel the dirty floor beneath her fingertips, hear the angry voices of the man who had taken her from her home, and hear the sound of Deuce's labored breathing as he lay against her, protecting her from everything. She buried her head in her mother's neck, pressing her ear to her chest so she could hear the soft lull of her heartbeat, closing her eyes against the trembling fear that was causing her to shake.

Temperance could feel her daughter's body trembling violently, and was acutely aware of the visions that were most likely parading through her head. She let her daughter listen to her heartbeat, whispered gentle words to her as they walked into Angela's office.

Antonia opened her eyes only to see Parker sitting at Angela's desk, a piece of paper before him as he wrote down something on it. She held tightly to Temperance, and listened to the sound of her voice, as she explained the situation to her father. Parker had identified one of the men, his description and a memory from the abduction had triggered a match in the FBI database, and they had a name and face.

Temperance spoke of the man to Booth, her voice was low and serious and their eyes were clashing in a moment of intense conversation. Neither heard the gentle whispering of the girl in her mother's arms, until her head lifted from her mother's chest, resting it on her shoulder, she recited.

"St. Anthony, St. Anthony… please come around… Gracie is lost and must be found." The soft whisper broke the silence. Temperance looked to Booth and he could see that she was on the edge, teetering precariously close to completely losing it.

"Let me take her." Angela said, reaching for Antonia, the little girl closed her eyes and whispered her prayer again. She panicked a little, breathing heavily as Temperance whispered that Angela would take care of her, her mother's words soothed her for the time being. "I am going to take her home with me. I can take Parker too."

"I want to stay with Dad." Parker said, looking up at Angela, and to his father for defense.

"Parker, you've been a really big help, but you and Toni need some dinner, and to get some sleep." Booth replied.

"You think I am going to be able to sleep? Dad, are you crazy? I need to help."

"Parker."

"Let him stay." Temperance said, catching Booth's eye. "He wants to help, he can help. He was the last one to see the kids, and he wants them safely returned, just like we do."

"Bones, I don't…"

"Besides." She said softly. "I need a control. If I don't have someone here that isn't panicking, isn't fighting with Jared, and is simply here for innocent means… I won't be able to focus. I need to focus."

"He's your control?"

"Yes." She nodded, her eyes flickering to the hopeful little boy, he stood up quickly and rounded the desk, wrapping his arms around her, she hugged him closely. Booth nodded silently, just as his phone began to ring. He looked to Temperance and took a deep breath.

"Private number. It's probably him." He whispered.

"Get as much information as you can." She replied, nodding to Angela as she took a step back with Antonia, walking toward the door, slipping out quietly.

Booth picked up the phone, and watched Temperance take Parker's hand. "Booth." He said into the line, his voice deep and serious.

"Booth, huh? Jared's brother, I presume?" A man's voice slithered through the line in a sarcastic sneer.

"Where is my daughter? Where is my nephew?" He said angrily. He cringed at the sound of the man's laughter.

"Where is Jared?"

"He's here. I want to talk to my daughter."

"Wait, wait, Mr. Booth." The man said, a laugh at the tip of his tongue. "How do I know you have him? How do I know you're not fucking with me? How do I know that this call isn't being traced."

"Because I don't have the time or inclination to play games." Booth replied. "I want those kids back."

"So you're just going to give up your brother, huh?"

"If there is another alternative, I'd like to hear it." Booth said, glancing to Temperance, she scowled at him. He held his hand up to let her know that he had it under control. "Let me talk to my daughter." He said softly.

"She's sleeping right now." He replied. "A little angel."

Booth could feel the heat rising in his face. Every muscle in his body tightened. "Listen to me." He said in a calm, even tone. "If you hurt one single hair on either child's head."

"I'm not in the business to hurt kids, Mr. Booth. Not if I don't have to. You tell Jared to come to the drop off point he went to for the sixth drop off of his assignment. If he can remember, and you have him… be there. You bring cops, I'll kill the kids… You don't show up, I kill the kids. You fuck with me in any way… I'll send you your little girl back to you in several small boxes, do you hear me?" He grunted.

"Just let me talk to her!" He exclaimed, the desperation finally slipping through the cracks. "Please."

There was a pause on the line, the phone moving away from the man's face, and Booth then heard the tiniest voice.

"Daddy?"

"Gracie?" Booth exclaimed, as he turned to his wife. Temperance's eyes were wide with fear. Quickly, he handed the phone to her.

"Daddy?"

"Gracie!" Temperance exclaimed.

"Mommy!" Grace exclaimed. "Mommy! I'm scared!"

"Mommy and daddy are coming to get you, baby… we're coming to get you!" Temperance exclaimed into the line.

The phone suddenly changed hands, as the man's voice returned. "Midnight. Sixth drop off. Jared knows where it is… and if he doesn't… that'll be the last time you talk to your little girl." He snapped, as the phone went dead.

Temperance's hand was shaking, and she dropped her hand with the phone still in it. Booth could see how pale she was, and wondered for a moment what else had been said on the phone. She stumbled back a step, and Parker held tightly to her.

"Bones, are you okay?" Parker asked.

"Sit." Booth said, taking her arm immediately, he led her to one of the extra chairs in the office. "Here, sit." He whispered.

Instead, she turned to Booth and looked him directly in the eyes. The color began to return to her face as she recovered quickly, taking a deep breath. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke, and Booth was amazed and afraid of how well she was doing despite the entire situation. "Midnight." She whispered. "We're dropping your brother off, and we're getting my baby back." She said, as she took Parker's hand, turned from her husband, and walked away from him, and back into the lab.

* * *

Just as Temperance reached her office, the door opened, Harding could see in her eyes that there was no room for argument. She held Parker's hand, and the boy walked alongside her as if his hand alone was giving her the strength to function. "Temperance?"

"Midnight." She whispered. "Booth will bring him there at midnight. They don't want any police."

"I'm not police, Temperance, I'm FBI."

"And do you think that they really care what type of law enforcement you are, Christopher. This is the lives of two children on the line." She whispered, watching him glance into her office, before taking the door handle and closing it slowly.

"And the life of a man, Temperance… a father." He whispered under his breath. "You can't put his life on the line any more than you could put Booth's."

Her eyes narrowed with intense scorn, and she gritted her teeth angry. "How dare you even compare the two of them." She approached him quickly, though he refused to be intimidated. Instead of taking a step back, he stepped into her stance. He glanced to Parker, who had taken a step back, and then back to Temperance. She was taken aback by his brashness, but refused to show her surprise. She instead waited for his argument.

"He's a father, Temperance."

"He's a sperm donor." She whispered. "He hasn't proven to me that he deserves to be a father. That little boy needs love, and care. He was living in a car for weeks! He hadn't bathed, he was undernourished!"

"And his father was doing everything he could to keep him alive, Temperance! And he brought him to you… a person he knew he could trust!" He exclaimed.

"And what good did that do him?" She asked, tears beginning to form in her eyes. "What damn good did it do him, Christopher, huh? How did 'I' help his son? How did I protect him?" She exclaimed, her voice sharp and angry, filled with anguish.

Christopher put his hands on her shoulders, keeping her steady in his grasp as he looked up to see Booth watching the scene from afar. He watched Temperance's eyes flicker to the side. She didn't have to look to know that her husband was listening to every word, that he was watching over her carefully. "There is a lot of blame going back and forth here, Doc." He said. "There's a lot of frustration and fear… but you can't let that take control, Doc. What we need now is some of your good old fashioned logic. Logic, and planning… that's what is going to get both of those kids back, and save Jared's skin." He said softly. "Because honestly… don't you think it'd be a little more satisfying for both of us… if we were the ones to skin Jared alive… and not some jerk that he owes money to." Harding shrugged. "Why does he get to have all the fun, huh?"

"This isn't time for humor, or irony, Christopher." She replied.

"It's not time for arguing either, Doc." He said, looking up at Booth, as he approached. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at him, his other hand going on his son's shoulder as Parker moved closer again, watching the three adults. "What we need now, is a plan." Ace said with a smile.

* * *

A conference with Jared, and some careful planning had three cars out on the road. Angela had brought Antonia home with her. She was met with a little resistance from the little girl, but as reality would have it, the entire day had exhausted her beyond any fight that she might have left. Temperance took Parker to her father's, and from Max's apartment, they would wait to hear the news of the retrieval of the children.

Booth was to go to the site first, a lake house at a camping area just outside the city. He was going to park his car inconspicuously, and hike through the woods carefully to the cabin, and it would be Harding who would be delivering Jared. The man on the phone had no idea what Booth looked like, so the deception was planned to be easy. Nearly an hour after Booth had left the lab, Harding sat in the car with Jared, driving toward their destination.

Harding watched the other man sit silently in his seat, staring out the window. "Hey. We're going to get Seeley back. We're not going to give you up."

"You've already given up on me." Jared replied. "All of you. You, Tempe… even Seeley doesn't care one way or another."

"That's bullshit, and you know it, Jared." Harding replied.

"Sperm donor." He scoffed. "That's what she called me, you heard her. She hates my guts. She thinks that I am an awful father… that I don't even deserve to live. She wanted to give me up!"

"She's speaking out of anger, Jared." Harding replied, turning down a more rural road, they were driving slowly toward their destination, noting that they were running nearly an hour early. "Both of those kids were innocent of this, Jared. Gracie has health issues… she has seizures, she kind of… spaces out a little."

"Their kid is sick?" Jared asked, watching Harding carefully.

"She was a premature baby… she has occasional lung issues, and like I said, she has these absence seizures. Temperance is just worried that her condition could worsen if she doesn't have her medication, or her proper diet. She's not a well little girl." He said softly.

Jared simply nodded his head, listening to Harding for a moment. "You know that I don't really hate you, right?

"Huh? Nah… just chocked it up to sibling rivalry." Harding replied good naturedly.

"And… you know that I love my brother, and Tempe." He shrugged. "I love my son."

"I believe you." Harding said, nodding his head.

Jared became very quiet. "I set Seeley up." He said softly.

"Huh?" Harding said softly.

"I set him up, there isn't anyone at the cabin."

"What do you mean there isn't anyone at the cabin? You said that was the sixth drop off, Jared. What are you saying?" Harding asked, feeling his heart pounding in his chest. He could feel that this conversation was going very quickly to a place he didn't want it to go. Jared's eyes were dark with emotion.

"I'm sorry." He said softly, looking directly at Harding. "I can't let my brother take the fall for this." He said. "I can't lead him into this. This is up to me."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jared? If we fuck this up, the kids are goners!" He exclaimed. "If you sent Booth to the wrong place, then we're heading into trouble here!"

"I'm heading into trouble, Ace. You… this is where I give up myself for my brother. This is where I sacrifice myself for my son, for my brother's little girl." He said, suddenly emotional.

"Jared, what the hell are you talking…" Before Harding could finish the sentence, Jared had grabbed the steering wheel violently, pulling it quickly to the side. "Jared! What are you doing!" Ace shouted, fighting for control of the steering wheel, for control of the car. "Jared! Stop!" He screamed.

Jared lifted his foot over, and slammed down on the gas as Harding fought him. "I'm sorry!" Jared exclaimed, sending the SUV careening off side of the road, sliding them down an embankment. Dirt skidded under the tires as the car tumbled to the side. Harding screamed for him to stop but it was far too late, and the SUV smashed into a tree, sending the airbags forcefully into Harding's face.

The SUV filled with smoke from the air bags, and came to an eventual stop halfway down the ravine on the side of the road. Harding was unconscious and bleeding, his leg stuck under the console of the SUV, his forehead bleeding.

Jared had held on for the impact, preparing himself for injury if possible, but was able to shield himself from most of the damage. He found that he had minimal injuries when the SUV finally stopped its descent into the dark forest, and all was quiet but for the hissing of the engine. Jared checked himself over quickly and swung his seatbelt off. He looked to the battered FBI agent beside him and groaned, praying for a moment that he didn't kill the other man.

Glass littered the inside of the SUV, and the front of the vehicle was crushed. Jared checked to make sure that Harding was still alive. Unconscious but breathing, Jared pulled the other man's phone from his pocket, and dialed a quick anonymous 911 call. He reached over Harding and pulled the other man's gun from its holster, before pulling himself from the wreckage of the crushed car. "Sorry Ace." He grunted as he jumped onto the stale, crunching leaves, feeling the soft ground beneath his feet. "I can't let my brother lay down his life for my mistakes." He said softly. And with that, Jared was gone, leaving only the sound of sirens in the distance, as he climbed the embankment back to the road.


	27. Dead End

Jared had made it to the main road with relative ease, despite the bumps and bruises from the car accident, and his injuries from the mugging. His body hummed from the pain killers, but he could still feel the bruises to his ribs, and the fresh cuts from the glass that had pierced his skin in the accident. He walked along the side of the road, out of breath and exhausted, and looked down into the ravine where he had left Ace bleeding and unconscious. Lights from down the road caught his attention, and he was hoping that it was the ride that he had called for before leaving Temperance's office.

He clamored down the road, turning as he walked, but continuing his trek as the car that was approaching slowed. He turned and waved his arms in the air, indicating that he needed a ride, and grinned wickedly when he saw the make of the car. The window on the driver's side rolled down slowly, and a sickening grin could be seen adorning the driver's face. "Jared, get in the damn car."

"I was making sure it was you." He said to his friend, moving around the car quickly, he opened the passenger door and climbed inside. "Pat, I don't think I have ever been so happy to see someone in my life." He said, hearing the sounds of sirens, far in the distance. It gave him a slight sense of relief knowing that someone was coming for Harding. Instead of dwelling on it though, he settled in the seat, shifting slightly, he took a sigh of relief.

"Well, then I'm sorry I'm going to have to do this." Pat said, slowing the car to a stop.

Jared could see the look of anxiety in his friend's eyes, and could honestly say that he wasn't surprised that he was being betrayed once again. "Wha-" Jared started to speak, but before he was able to finish the word, the driver pressed a taser to his neck, instantly zapping him into unconsciousness.

* * *

The sounds of sirens in the distance made Booth's stomach twist with alarming force. The cabin that Jared had sent him to was quiet at best, and appeared to be completely abandoned. There were no signs of any life, just the unsteady song of crickets. He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and cursed at the lack of signal. Another perimeter check, and he would close in on the cabin. The sounds of the sirens seemed to be moving closer, and the darkness of the woods seemed to be threatening to swallow him whole. Suddenly, as if on a switch, he turned for the path he had taken into the woods. He knew in his heart that the cabin was deserted, and just that inkling in the back of his mind that Jared was the one that had led him here was enough to send him into a full run through the woods toward his car.

The sirens screamed in the distance, as Booth's lungs burned as he ran through the trees. Branches scraped and scratched at him, snagging his shirt as he ran, but never slowed him down. He whispered angry curse words directed at his brother as he barreled through the trees, over fallen trunks and soft spots and over rocks and roots. He needed to make it to his car, and in the slim possibility that Jared wasn't lying, Booth knew that he'd hear an oncoming car, or truck through the woods. He knew something was wrong, and it was killing him that though he had no idea what it was, and that the lives of his daughter and nephew were hanging in the balance.

The moment he jumped into the driver's seat, his phone buzzed to indicate that he had a signal, and instantly began to call Ace's cell phone. "Damn it!" He growled when the phone went to voicemail immediately, and with a heavy foot, he skidded his way down the dirt road he had parked on, and headed toward the main road.

* * *

Booth sped down the road at an alarming speed. His lights were flashing in time with his pounding heart as he made his way to the main road. The road was deserted, so there was no need for a siren, but to safely guard from the possibility of any stray deer in the roadway, he slammed his hand into the button and jumped at the sound of the siren. He passed a car in the other lane, his eyes flashing back to see if it was Ace's vehicle, and swore aloud when it wasn't.

He rounded a corner quickly, the sight of skid marks made his heart jump into his throat as he added to the marks by slamming on his brakes. He parked the car and leapt from the driver's seat, skidding to a stop at the edge of a small drop off. Down in the brush, he could see the tail lights of a car, and immediately began the descent into the trees.

He could tell as he approached the dark vehicle that it was a standard issue FBI vehicle, and called out loudly for his friend, and his brother. He slid down the embankment, smelling the exhaust from the car, mixed with the scent of gunpowder and gasoline. "Ace!" He screamed. "Ace!" Booth screamed. He could hear the sound of the sirens in the distance, and prayed that they were heading in their direction. He made his way to the SUV and knelt on the hood, noticing the man slumped over in the driver's side. "Ace…" He said, muttering expletives as he looked around the car. "Jared?" He called, noticing the empty passenger seat, he swore, lifted his head and looked around. He climbed through the windshield into the car, pulling back a bit, he assessed the damage. He checked to see if Ace was breathing, and was only too happy to hear the shallow breaths coming from his friend.

Blood oozed from the head wound on his friend, and his leg appeared to be jammed beneath the dashboard. "Ace! Ace! Look at me!" Booth exclaimed, pulling his friend's head up, he tried to wake him. "Jesus, Ace… please!" He exclaimed as he moved around among the broken glass, trying to find something to free his friend's leg. "I swear to God, Christopher, if you die…" Booth exclaimed, trying to find a way to get his friend from the car and deciding to leave his threat for another day.

"Shit." Ace's voice broke the silence. "Agh!" He exclaimed, a look of pure agony on his face as he breathed heavily.

"Thank God!" Booth exclaimed. "Stay with me, buddy. Stay with me."

"Shit, Deuce. Shit!" He screamed. "Jared." He growled, trying to control his breathing, feeling nothing but pain.

"Where is Jared?"

"I don't know! He ran me off the road."

"He did this to you?" Booth asked, watching the torture on his friend's face as he nodded.

"He set us up. He fucking set us up!" Ace said.

"Stop talking… just… just stay with me, okay?"

"No…" He said, starting to fall apart, Booth could see that he was starting to feel emotional. "No, we need to find her. We need to find Gracie… why would he do this? Why would he risk it?"

"Grace will be fine." Booth whispered, still looking for Ace's phone. "I think the little bastard stole your phone. He must have called 911 before he took off. That's why I hear sirens." He said, pulling at the radio in the car, he called dispatch. They confirmed that an ambulance was on its way. "Tell them that my truck is on the road, that they'll know where to go when they see my truck." Booth hung up the radio and turned back to his friend, to attempt to keep him conscious. "You have to stay awake, Ace."

"My gun." Ace whispered, moving his hand.

"Shit." Booth whispered, realizing it was missing.

"Deuce." Ace groaned. "How are we going to find the kids? The only collateral we had is gone now." Ace whispered.

"Stop worrying about it, we're going to find them. We will find them."

"They're just babies, Deuce." Ace whispered, shock beginning to set in. "They're just babies."

"Grace is strong, she's tough like her mother. You remember when I took her to the skating rink to sign her up for ice ballet, don't you?"

"Yeah." Ace whispered. "She wanted to play hockey instead."

"Like Parker." Booth whispered. "Her mother almost killed me."

"Yeah, but she has one hell of a slapshot." Ace added, his breathing becoming more shallow.

"That she does." Booth whispered. He looked up when he saw approaching flashlights, and flashing lights from above reflecting off the trees. "Looks like help is here." Booth said softly. "You're going to be okay."

"Find them, Booth." He said weakly. "They're here, I'll be okay. Just find them."

"I will. Stay strong." He said, pulling himself up, he held his fist up, and Ace loosely rapped his knuckles to them, and climbed from the SUV. The cuts on his hands were nothing compared to the pain in his chest right now, as anxiety threatened to take over. "His leg is crushed under the dash. He needs help immediately." Booth said, listening to the EMT shout up to the ones descending into the ravine. Booth carefully climbed to the top of the ravine, pulling his phone from his pocket, he scrolled through the numbers. Looking at the picture on the screen of his phone, he looked into the dark eyes of his daughter, and the blue, glistening eyes of his wife as she held their newborn child. He could feel the weight in the pit of his stomach as he felt his world crumbling around him. He closed his eyes tightly, pressed the send button, and pressed the phone to his ear.

Her voice was tired, worn and just as broken as he was.

"Temperance." He whispered. "I need you."


	28. Calls Them Like She Sees Them

The first thing Jared heard when he emerged from his unconscious state, was the gentle sobbing of a child. He wasn't sure if it was himself that was crying, or if it was the tears of someone beside him. His chest felt tight, his body tingled all over, and burned as if everything had fallen asleep and was just waking. His eyes flitted open slightly, and he found himself staring directly into two endless pools of blue. He was startled by the eyes staring at him, and gasped, closing his eyes tightly, his eyes blinked and again, he was looking into those crystal blue circles.

"Tempe." Was all he managed to whisper, instantly recognizing the color and shape, the curve of the little girl's jaw, and the intense expression that he knew to be Temperance's.

"You know my mommy." The little girl said, her voice not above a whisper. She was tiny and petite, and her skin was pale, her eyes rimmed with a trace of red. Though she had a stubbornness within them that was hard to mistake. "Where is she?" She whimpered.

Jared started a bit at the girl's words, and looked around the small room, pushing himself to a sitting position, the little girl moved away from him, frightened at his quick movement. He looked to her and tried to move. "I'm not going to hurt you. I know your mommy and daddy… they're my friends." He said, stretching the truth quite a bit. She scooted back a little further, holding her hand out in defense.

"I just want my mommy." She said, a little louder than she had spoken before, her eyes moving to the metal door.

Jared looked to the door, and back to the little girl. "Was there a little boy in here with you?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Where is he now?"

Grace shrugged.

"I'm his daddy. When did they take him out of here?" Jared asked, feeling the panic in his belly, the little girl shrugged her shoulders. "You're Grace, right? That's your name?"

Grace's answer was a simple glare. While most children would be frightened to death, this little girl seemed to simply becoming angrier by the moment.

Jared slowly tried to stand on shaky legs, finding that his hands were bound behind his back. He struggled for a moment. He looked to the little girl and noticed that she wasn't bound, just sitting quietly playing with a strip of material in her hand, wiping it across her tear streaked face. "Can you help me please?" He asked.

"No." She replied. Her tone was serious and indignant, she watched him for several moments as he struggled with the ropes behind his back. "I don't know you."

"I'm your Uncle Jared, Grace. Your daddy is my brother. I am your mommy and daddy's friend." He paused. "They sent me here to come and get you."

Her eyes widened at that response, and she swallowed hard. "Where is my mommy?" She whimpered, knotting her fingers around the material in her hand.

"She…" Jared started, picturing the mess he had left behind. Temperance not speaking to him, his brother barely speaking to him, and the accident. He clenched his jaw with a silent prayer that Ace wasn't hurt too badly. "They're going to find us."

Grace furrowed her brow. "I think you're stupid." She said, shaking her head as her lip began to tremble. She walked away from Jared, and settled on the little cot in the corner of the room, rolled to face the wall, and began to cry silently.

* * *

Booth had barely even stopped the car in front of Max's apartment, when the passenger seat flew open. Temperance climbed in and immediately looked him in the eyes. Booth pulled the car into park and instantly, his arms were around her. He could feel her resolve breaking beneath his touch, and his own resolve crumbling to pieces at his feet. She was trembling in his arms, trying so hard not to break, her hands gripping him tightly.

He had told her over the phone what had happened, about Ace, Jared. He told her everything he could remember, and waited for the police to arrive to search the area for his brother, or any sign of the kidnappers. He clung to his wife tightly, as if just her touch alone would give him the strength to move onto the next step, and she clung to him as well. "Have you heard anything?" She whispered.

"They're still searching." Booth whispered. "They have a trace on Ace's phone, we think Jared stole it."

She pulled slowly from the hug, still holding Booth tightly as she looked into his eyes. "Why would he do this?"

"He thinks he's giving himself up for the kids, Bones. He thinks he's doing the right thing. He thinks…"

"Doing the right thing?" She asked, gripping Booth's shirt a little tighter. "He thinks he's doing the right thing. Are you suggesting that I give him the benefit of the doubt? That I praise his impulsive and dangerous…"

"Bones." He said, lifting a finger to her lips, she silenced. In the darkness of the car, he could see the fear in her eyes. "I am not giving him anything, not an excuse, not a way out… and when everything is straightened out, he'll be lucky if he even sees the light of day anytime soon."

Temperance's eyes were still filled with fire, and Booth's finger fell from her lips, he continued. "There isn't anything we can do right now. The police are doing their search, forensics is doing their job. The only thing we can do is wait. Wait to see if he was able to save them, wait to see if the police find him first. We were in a pretty remote location. He had to have arranged it somehow. I am having the FBI trace any calls going out of your office today. Did you get any sleep?" He asked, nodding toward Max's building, he watched his wife give him a quick nod.

"Just a little."

"Good." He replied, running his finger through her hair, he tucked a strand behind her ear. "We should get to the hospital, see how Ace is doing, and…"

"No." She said, reaching out to touch his face, he leaned into her hand and furrowed his brow.

"Bones, I…"

"I'll go. You go upstairs and take a shower, rest. You said yourself that all we can do now is wait. Ace is my partner, and I have gotten some rest…I will go to the hospital." She shook her head when he started to speak, eying him carefully. "Parker is upstairs, Booth. I think that he is taking this harder than all of us. He needs you."

Booth wanted to argue, wanted to tell her that he didn't want to be apart from her any longer, that he felt like he was falling apart with each passing second. However, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was feeling the same way. Together they were balancing just as precariously as apart, and he knew in his heart that he needed rest, even if that meant to stop moving for a short amount of time. "You'll be okay?" He asked, not sure if he was asking himself, or his wife.

"I need you to be okay." She replied, choosing to leave his question unanswered. She leaned forward and kissed his lips tenderly, wrapping her arms around him again. "I love you."

"I love you." He whispered into her hair. "I love you so much."

She pulled from the hug and wiped the tear on her cheek as she looked into his eyes. She took a deep breath. "Call me if you hear anything." She said, clenching her jaw as to keep herself from falling apart.

"Anything." He said, dropping a kiss on her lips, he opened the door and took one more look at her as she pulled herself into the driver's seat. "You're sure you're alright?"

"Get some sleep." She said, leaning up to kiss him again, he grabbed her hand. "Something is lost…"

"And will be found." He replied, kissing her forehead before he took a step back, allowing her to close the driver side door. He watched as the tail lights disappeared around the corner, and sent out a silent prayer, before turning around and making his way upstairs.


	29. Worth A Shot

Temperance walked through the emergency ward of the hospital on a mission. She had called ahead about her partner's condition and knew exactly where to find him. She stopped at the nurse's station to announce her arrival, and they pointed her down the hallway. Nodding, she thanked the staff and marched down the hallway. She could feel the anxiety for her partner's wellbeing rising in her stomach, and worked hard to keep her anxiety to a minimum. She had many issues to deal with, so she knew that if she attempted to compartmentalize them, then it would help ensure that she wouldn't lose her stride, focus, or patience.

She was just approaching the door of the hospital room when she heard Ace's booming voice as he yelped in pain. "Ow! Will you cut it out?" He exclaimed.

She stepped around the corner, and gasped at the sight before her. Ace was sitting on the bed, his leg extended and being prepped for setting, a large bandage wrapped around his forehead, and his hand was pulling at the nurse's arm as she attempted to take his blood pressure. "I'm fine, okay? I'm fine, just…" Harding stopped arguing when he saw Temperance walk into the room, and pulled his hand from the cuff on his arm. "Temperance." He said, wincing when the nurse pulled the cuff off his arm quickly. "Hey… come on… be nice." He glared at the nurse as she walked past him and scribbled into her clipboard.

"You really should be nicer to the help, Agent Harding." Temperance said, her voice holding just a tinge of a humored tone, before she straightened. "We haven't heard anything yet." She said.

"Where is Booth?" He asked.

"I left him at my father's. I'm hoping he'll at least sit down, even if he doesn't sleep, he needs to rest." She said, rubbing her eyes. She let her eyes settle on Harding, and assessed the damage carefully. She turned to see the x-rays that were displayed on the computer monitor behind her, stepping up to it, she rolled her finger over the image. "It appears it was a clean break."

"Nothing was clean about this, Doc. Nothing. Jared played us from the moment we told him we were taking him with us." He said, catching her gaze when she turned to him. "That son of a…" He paused when he caught the nurse's glare. "That jerk played us. Now if they would just put a damn brace or something on my damn leg so that I can get back out there."

Temperance let out a humorless laugh, turning her head to Harding. "You're not going anywhere. You need to have this elevated, they need to set your leg, and you have other injuries, not to mention the fact that you have no means to get around." She replied. "You could develop an embolism, or end up with a misshapen limb. If you don't mind, Agent Harding, I'd prefer it if my partner had full use of all of his limbs. It comes in handy when chasing suspects."

"You don't think that they'll be more afraid if I lumber at them like an insane Quasimodo?"

"I don't suppose that would be advised, Agent Harding." She said, staring at her partner's leg.

"Then what are we going to do, Doc? Are you just going to run off and get yourself a new partner? You've taken this long to break me in, and now you're just going to let me sit here abandoned while you and Booth go save the kids with some stranger?"

"Ah, Agent Harding." She said, reaching over to touch his hand, she leaned in and kissed his cheek tenderly. "I've got just the man for the job… and as luck would have it… I've already broken him in quite thoroughly." She said, standing up straight.

Harding smiled, immediately knowing who she was referring to, he simply shook his head. "I will do what I can from here. Jared stole my phone, but I've had all of the calls forwarded here. I'm sure Booth told you about the call from your office, the trace on that. It's only a matter of time, Temperance. I just hope to hell that Jared was able to get those kids released… that he doesn't do something stupider than he already has." Harding whispered. "I just have a really bad feeling about it, Temperance."

"You're not the only one." She said, sighing softly as she took his hand, giving it a grateful squeeze, as she waited for them to set her partner's leg.

* * *

The television was on with no sound, static filled the screen. Programming had long since disappeared from the channel, and Booth just found himself staring at the snow that whisked across the tube in front of him. His eyes were wide open, unseeing and unreflecting as his mind sorted through details and facts of the past two days. He was so focused on Max's television screen, that he didn't see the boy approaching the side of the couch until he spoke.

"Dad?" Parker said, his voice soft and imploring. He noticed his father jump a little, and his head turned to see his son standing in the shadow of the television screen. Their eyes locked. "Are you crying?"

Booth couldn't answer, and after a moment felt the sting of his eyes and the tears rolling down his cheek. He hadn't even realized that he was crying, and for a several seconds couldn't find the words to answer his son.

"It's okay to cry, Dad." Parker said, touching his father's hand as he walked around to the front of the couch, blocking the television. "Bones told me what happened. She told me about Uncle Jared, about Chris. It's alright to cry. You always said that it's okay to cry once in a while. Bones says that crying is just a way that we release emotion, like shouting or… I don't know." He shrugged, still noting that his father hadn't said anything. "I cried too."

In just a quick movement, Booth grabbed his boy and pulled him to his chest, hugging him tightly. Parker wrapped his arms around his father tightly, holding onto him. Parker could feel his father's soft, tender sobs, even as he tried to hide them. He gripped tightly and cried a little himself, just glad to finally be able to release the emotion and angst that he had been battling as he had tried to sleep.

"I love you, Parker." He whispered, holding him tightly against him, his tears soaked into his son's t-shirt. "Don't ever tell me that you're too old to hear that… don't ever tell me not to tell you that. I love you."

"I love you too, Dad." Parker said into his father's shoulder, grateful to know that even though his father was the strongest man he knew, even he wasn't afraid to express his emotions.

Booth held his son tightly, and Parker moved beside Booth on the couch, leaning against his father as he wiped his tears on his father's shirt. After a few short minutes, Parker dozed against the safety of his father, his head resting safely on his chest. Booth let his eyes close, let his mind wander for a moment.

He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, and when his phone buzzed violently next to him, he almost forgot that his son was so close, and quickly grabbed at the phone. "Booth." He said into the line gruffly, before he realized that it wasn't a call, but a message. He pressed a button for the media message attached, and his heart dropped like a rock when he saw the image.

Grace's form, lying on a dirty cot, her body curled into a ball. She appeared to be sleeping. In the background, he could hear what sounded like a rattling breath, a sickening chuckle. The camera moved quickly to the corner, a man laying on his side, hands tied behind his back. His face turned and Booth almost let out a guttural yell when he saw his brother's head turn to face the camera. His breathing became labored.

"What's wrong, Dad?" Parker asked, looking up, he could see the image on the phone, his father's hands shaking as Jared shouted something at the person holding the camera. His voice was unintelligible from the microphone on the camera, and the view turned and faced the sleeping girl again.

"If you want to see your little girl again, Mr. Booth. I suggest you pay us the money that your brother owes us… with interest… by tomorrow night. We'll call again in a couple more hours with details. Sleep well."

The sound of a gunshot over the line made Booth and Parker jump, and the little sleeping girl leapt up in fear, her blue eyes staring straight into the camera as she screamed in fear.

The screen went black.


	30. Partners

4am-

Booth paced in Angela's office, watching his son as he held the controller to the Angelatron 64K in his hands, moving his way through the menus. "Dad, you have to stop pacing." Parker said, very tired, but aware that he was the one that was the calmest. "You're making me nervous."

"Well, I should know how to use this stupid thing." He muttered aloud. He stopped when the video popped up on the screen. He looked to Parker, and nodded. "Keep the volume down first, okay?" He said. Parker nodded and complied, as the small screen of the phone came to life on the big screens that surrounded them. It was paused, and Booth looked at the pixilated video before him as he tried to draw any type of clue from the slowly moving frames. "Damn it, it's too distorted." Booth growled.

"Just be patient, Dad. Angela has some masking tools that can identify common things that might give us a clue about where they are." He said, looking at the controller, he pressed a couple of buttons, and the screen started highlighting things, cataloguing things, there were lists and objects to the side, while the video continued.

Booth could feel the hair on the back of his neck prickling his skin. After a few minutes of watching the video again and again, he turned his attention toward the door. "Did you tell Bones?" Parker asked. His father stepped to one of the chairs and settled into it, rubbing his face with his hands. "Dad, did you tell Bones that they called?"

"Not yet." Booth said, a deep sigh escaping his lips. He looked up at the screen for a moment, fighting back the yawn that was threatening. He caught the wide eyed expression on his son's face. "I'll talk to her when she gets here." He said. His eyes raked over the screen, the items being catalogued were slowing, and Parker paused it on the sleeping girl's form.

"I don't want to go any farther than this part." He said softly, handing his father the controller.

"I understand." He said, pulling his boy close to him, his arms wrapped around his father's neck.

He held Parker for a couple more minutes, his eyes closed as he tried not to fall asleep against the boy. His body was starting to really feel the exhaustion, as it pulled him down as if in a free fall. His grip tightened just a bit on Parker, when he heard the sound of shoes quickly making their way across the lab. "Hey." He said softly to Parker. "I think Bones is here."

Parker pulled from Booth's embrace, just as Temperance stepped into the doorway. She stopped cold when she saw the image on the screen. Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open slightly. "Booth?"

"She's okay." Booth said, standing up quickly, he touched his son's shoulder on his way to his wife. "Bones, she's okay."

"What is this?" Temperance said, stepping forward, past Booth as if she didn't even see him approaching. Her eyes were focused on the child. "Booth, what is this?" She asked, taking the controller from him, she hit the 'play' button. Unfortunately, the volume turned on when she did this, not knowing the content of the video.

"Bones." Booth said, reaching for the controller, but it was too late. The sound of the gunshot on the video echoed through the speakers of the computer, vibrating the solid surfaces of the room. All three flinched at the sound, watching the child leap up, and when Grace's scream filled the room, and the lab, only Temperance was unable to keep up the brave front they had all been holding.

The sound from her daughter's lips, and the look of pure terror in those bright blue eyes sent a shot of pain directly into her chest. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Temperance sucked in a deep breath, and it was as if her entire body had stopped, and the air simply wouldn't release. Booth grabbed the controller from her hands, and tossed it to Parker, who caught it with one hand as Booth grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Bones, you need to breath. Bones!" He exclaimed.

Her eyes were unseeing and wide, her lips trembling as the breath finally escaped. The blackness of the screen only exacerbated her panic. She sucked in each breath faster than her body could catch up, and Booth held her arms to keep her steady. "Bones, you have to breathe slowly... Bones, look me in the eyes, Bones. Please." He said. His grip was tight on her arms, and he moved his hands to her face, cupping her cheeks as he tried to refocus her. "Look at me... look at me, Bones..." He said, feeling her hands gripping him for support. Her panic stricken face seemed to relax slightly when her eyes focused on his. "That's right... that's right, I've got you. I've got you."

Suddenly, Booth's phone rang again, shattering the moment of peace and solace they had found in one another's eyes. Without losing eye contact, he pulled the phone from his pocket. "Booth." He said softly into the line, keeping a cupped hand on one of Temperance's cheeks. There was a moment of tension when his eyes flicked from hers, and she gripped him harder. "It's Ace." He said softly to her, listening to his friend. "You're supposed to be resting." He said, pulling Temperance into his arms so that he could hold her close. "Seriously? They're bringing him in? Who is interrogating? Alright, I'll be over there in a few. Thanks. Now get some damn rest." Booth said, ending the call.

"Who did they find?" She whispered against his shoulder.

"They found the guy that Jared was picked up by after the accident. They ran the phone number that he called from your office, and followed the GPS from Ace's phone. They found it shoved in the cushion of the seat of his car. They're bringing him in for questioning, and they're going to trace back the GPS, to see if they can get a read on where he stopped between the time the accident happened, and when he was picked up." Booth continued talking, and could feel her nodding against his shoulder. "Hey." He whispered, pulling from her tight grip, he looked into her eyes. "We have leads, Bones."

"I know," she whispered.

"Dad's going to find her." Parker said, turning their attention to the exhausted boy watching them from the screen. He had a list of items that had been pulled from the video, and was waiting for them to tell him what to do next. He was in this completely, and not even exhaustion was going to stop him. "Just tell me what to do." He whispered.

"I need you to stay here with Bones, Parker." Booth said suddenly, noting the look of defiance from both of them. "I need both of you to stay here, to review the results from the video analysis?" He said, watching as Temperance nodded slowly, though he could see that she wasn't exactly in complete agreement. "I am going to go to the Hoover. Agent Lucas has this guy in custody, and Ace told him to wait on me before the interrogation starts." He said, leaning in to kiss his wife's forehead. "We're closing in." He whispered, pulling Parker close to both of them. He hugged them together for another moment or two, before he took a step backwards. "Call me for anything." He said, watching her nod, he started to turn.

"Booth." She said, watching him turn his attention back to Temperance. "Next time don't keep this from me." She said, pointing to the screen. "We're partners."

"Partners." He nodded. "I'm sorry."

"I love you." She said, softening at his smile, as he whispered the sentiment back, and retreated quickly toward the exit of the lab.


	31. Time And Place

5am-

Temperance rubbed the bridge of her nose, allowing herself to let a yawn escape as she watched the video again and again. She was sitting on the couch in Angela's office, Parker cuddled against her, having fallen asleep almost immediately once he leaned on her. Her eyes scanned the objects, and she navigated through the menus to try to pull the audio of what Jared was shouting. It was jumbled, and slurred, almost as if he had been drugged, but she was certain that it might hold some information for them. She pushed the buttons and watched the screen diligently, as her mind drifted to another time and place. It was a quieter time, that spring, in fact as the sounds of her children's voices tickled her memories.

x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*

_"Mommy, mommy! Mommy!" Antonia exclaimed, tugging at her mother's arm as she ran into the small bathroom where she was getting ready. She giggled when Temperance turned to look at her, and a smile appeared on her lips. "Look at me!" Antonia said, twirling in her pink summer dress that she was wearing, the wind catching it and pulling at it, causing it to puff and float in the air. _

_"You look beautiful." Temperance smiled._

_"Did you see my earrings?" She asked, showing her mother the little sparkling pearls that adorned the little girl's ears. "Big A let me wear them. They're big girl earrings." She smiled._

_"Very nice, very pretty." Temperance smiled, glancing to the door of the small bathroom. "Is Gracie with Big A?"_

_"Um…" Antonia shrugged. Temperance was about to scold Antonia, when the bathroom door opened again, and a tiny head poked around the corner. "There she is." Antonia smiled._

_"Mama?" Grace said, looking into the room, she saw her mother, and pushed the door open, running toward Temperance at top speed. Temperance lifted her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly. _

_"There you are." Temperance said, smiling at the little girl as she hugged her tightly. "You look very pretty too." She said, rubbing her little girl's back. She could smell that sweet baby scent. Even though her little girl wasn't a baby any more, it was still there, Temperance was sure of it. She dropped a kiss on the little girl's head and looked down at Antonia. "Are you ready to do this?" She asked, watching Antonia nod her head._

_"Are you ready too, Mommy?" She asked, latching onto her mother's hand, she tugged at it again as she opened the bathroom door._

_"More than you would ever know, sweetheart." She said, stepping out into the now empty beach house. The sound of their friends and family gathered outside greeted her, and she looked to see Angela walking toward her from one of the bedrooms. "Ange, thank you for getting them ready."_

_"It was no problem." Angela said, reaching up to straighten the strap on her friend's sun dress. She looked into Temperance's eyes and smiled. "Everyone is just waiting for you, sweetie." She said._

_"Mommy!" JV's voice boomed as he pushed open the French doors from the back of the beach house. He was dressed in a suit, his finger pinched under the collar as he tugged at it with a pain filled look on his face. "Mommy, can I take this off now…it itches," he whined._

_"Not just yet, little one." Angela said, running her fingers through the boy's raucous curls. _

_"I want to find seashells," JV pouted._

_"Me too, Mommy." Grace smiled._

_"Um… no." Antonia said, rolling her eyes. "Mommy and daddy are getting married." _

_"There will be plenty of time for seashells after the ceremony." Angela said, taking Antonia's hand. "I'll take them outside and get them ready to do their thing." She said, referring to the flower girl and ring bearer duties. Temperance kissed Grace's cheek and put her to the floor. Grace took a step back and looked at her mother, smiling widely. Her bright eyes sparkled with excitement._

_"You look like a pretty, pretty, princess, Mommy." She grinned._

_"Thank you, my pretty, pretty princess." Temperance said. "Thank you, Angela." _

_"This is what sisters are for." Angela said, watching Grace take JV's hand, she took her son's hand. And the four of them made their way toward the back of the house._

_Once they had left the room, Temperance found herself taking deep breaths, her eyes focused on the French doors that Angela and the children had just stepped through. She could hear the soft sound of the waves lapping at the sand outside, the sound of the sea birds shouting in the distance. She could feel the nervous excitement in her belly start to tickle her as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear._

_The footsteps of the person behind her made her turn, and a brilliant smile lit her face. "There you are, princess." Max said in a low voice. "My God, you look just like your mother." _

_"I wish she were here." Temperance whispered, trying to remain brave, staying strong as she always did._

_Max could see the sadness in her eyes, and touched her hand. There was a moment where they simply watched one another, and tenderly he slipped her arm through his. "Let's get out there."_

_"I didn't realize how happy you were to finally get rid of me." She teased, catching her father's watchful eye and knowing smirk._

_"Only because I know how well he takes care of you, how happy you are with him…"_

_"And that you know you have no say in the matter."_

_"That's the one I was looking for." He winked at her and she laughed. Peacefully and together, they walked toward the back of the house toward the soft music playing, and the waiting groom, who stood unwavering at the edge of the gentle lapping water._

_Booth stood beside his two best men, Christopher Harding, and Parker. His eyes were staring straight ahead, and smiled when he saw his daughter coming in his direction. She had chosen a pale pink sun dress for her outfit, a pink bow in her hair pulled it into a half ponytail, and her smile glimmered in the sunlight. She looked positively angelic as she walked toward him, and he winked at her simply to hear her giggle. She stepped up to him and gave him a hug, and turned around to stand in her place beside Angela._

_Next was the flower girl and the ring bearer, and the sizable crowd was all smiles as Grace dropped flowers one petal at a time with each step. She had practiced her walk down the aisle ad nauseum, and each time she did, it would erupt into a fight between she and Antonia. Booth watched Antonia as she shook her head and covered her face with her hand, unable to watch her sister as she skipped and dropped a petal on the little pillow that JV was carrying. His curly brown hair was tame for the occasion, and his smile was bright and happy. Booth watched them walk slowly toward them, as JV reached up and handed the pillow over to Parker, who smiled as the little boy turned in his place and waved at the guests._

_Grace was still in the middle of the aisle, her eyelashes fluttering like a butterfly at a someone she recognized in one of the seats._

_"Grace." Booth whispered, his eyes catching sight of Temperance at the back door with Max. "Gracie girl…" He said, grabbing her attention, she looked toward her father. There was a light laughter from the guests and Grace grinned and dropped her basket, entering a full run toward Booth. She didn't care that there were other people around, or that she was in the middle of a ceremony. She had her sights set on only one person, but before she got to Booth, she noticed the ocean, the birds, the sand._

_"Seashells!" She exclaimed, taking a sharp right, she flew past Booth and ran for the beach._

_"Yeah!" JV exclaimed, taking off after her._

_"Grace Keenan Booth! You are ruining everything!" Antonia exclaimed, as she turned to see the little girl running through the sand along the water. Booth started to get ready to run after them._

_"I've got it." Parker said._

_"GRACIE!" Antonia exclaimed angrily, as she dropped her flowers and took off running after Parker._

_Booth looked to the guests, all of whom had stood up to watch the spectacle before them. They were laughing as Gracie kept her running start, and JV had nearly caught up with her. Parker was hot on their heels, as Antonia shouted after them. He turned to look at Harding, as he laughed out loud at the four of them running along the sand. Shaking his head, he sighed. He looked up to see Temperance walking toward them, standing on her tip toes to look over the crowd as she tried to see what everyone was looking at. A slow smile spread across her face, as she watched Antonia take a fast leap onto Parker's back, knocking him down into the sand. The two little ones slowed down and turned, laughing at the other two as they fell onto the ground into a fit of giggles._

_Temperance walked down the aisle toward Booth, and the officiant. She pulled the pillow with the rings from Harding, and he smiled at her. "Would you mind? We're trying to do something here…" She asked, nodding toward the fracas that had gotten out of hand on the beach._

_"No problem." He said, dropping a kiss on her cheek. "That's what the best man is for." He smiled, and turned and ran quickly in the direction of the children._

_She turned toward Booth and noted that his eyes hadn't left hers. "Are you ready?"_

_"Do you really have to ask?" He whispered, pulling her in for a quick kiss, reveling in her warmth for another moment before they continued the ceremony._

x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*x*

The sound of the observation room door closing startled Booth out of his reverie. He looked to the Agent in front of him as he shook his head. "Booth, he's not talking."

"Yeah." Booth nodded.

"We traced the phone to an abandoned lot near the tracks on the east side, where he admitted to being, and we assume that's where the trade happened."

"Trade?"

"Yeah, we found five thousand on him in cash."

"So he traded my brother for five thousand bucks, and isn't going to say another Goddamned word about it?" Booth said, the anger simmering to a boil.

"We can try to shake him up a bit, but he's really strung out, and I don't think..."

"Well then shake him up!" Booth exclaimed. "Shake him up! My kid is out there! My baby brother is out there! My nephew! Do you want me to go in there and squeeze it out of him? Because I will. I want names!" Booth exclaimed, slamming his fist down on the table. "I want names and locations! I want to know how this asshole knows my brother! I want everything! Run everything you have on this guy! I want to know who he has been arrested with, what circles he's run in! I want connections, Goddamn it!" Booth shouted. "Connections! Everything!" He shouted, the exhaustion in his face was evident, and he was fraying ever more so at the edges. Suddenly his phone buzzed as a phone call came through. Without looking he brought the phone to his ear. "Booth." He barked into the line.

"Bring five hundred thousand dollars to the tracks at 52nd and Sims at one forty five this afternoon.. Unmarked, untraceable cash. Drive to the tracks and leave the cash near the brick building, just near the steps. Then, drive to the end of the road and wait for the train. Stay at the dead end until the train passes at two o'clock. Once the cash is with us, we'll set them free. You bring cops, you try to follow... say bye, bye, baby." The voice on the other end of the line said, just before it went dead.


	32. Seizure Moment

Somewhere amidst the memories of her wedding, and the warmth of the boy cuddling against her, Temperance drifted into a fitful slumber. She jumped at the sound of a voice behind her, and looked up to see Angela stepping in the room holding Antonia in her arms, sound asleep. "Bren?" She said again.

"Angela." Temperance said, sitting up slightly, Parker was jostled just a bit, but didn't bat an eyelash. She stood carefully and stared at her friend with a blank expression, trying to clear the fog from her mind.

"Are you okay? Did you learn something new?" Angela asked, glancing to the screen, she stepped forward and looked at the monitor. "Another phone call? You could have called me." She said, handing the little girl to her mother, her arms held out as if desperately needing her child close.

"It's a video from the kidnappers... they sent it to Booth's phone, so the picture is distorted." Temperance said, stepping up to the screen. Antonia gripped her mother and buried her head into her neck.

"Mama?" She whispered. "Did Daddy find Gracie?"

"Not yet, princess..." She swallowed hard, glancing to Angela. "There are a couple of curious things on the screen, that we can't quite make out." She said, pressing buttons on the controller, putting the pictures up frame by frame in a collage format on the screen. "See, there."

"That looks like..."

"Sports equipment?" Temperance asked.

"Yeah, that looks like some old hockey equipment, that... maybe a deflated... soccer ball or something. It's hard to tell from the distortion."

"Perhaps a storage facility?" She asked, glancing at her phone as it buzzed. "It's Booth." She whispered, feeling her heart pounding in her chest, she lifted the phone to her ear. "Did you find out anything?"

"Five hundred thousand dollars." He said, the tension in his voice was apparent, but she sensed a bit of confidence. "I need five hundred thousand dollars by ten o'clock."

"Ransom?" Temperance asked, looking to Angela, her jaw clenched.

"Five hundred thousand dollars, Bones."

"I've got it." She replied.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

She hung up the phone and watched Angela's widened eyes. "He has a plan." She said, still holding her daughter, she walked past her friend and toward the door, turning for a moment to look at Parker.

"He'll be alright here." Angela replied. "I'll keep analyzing the video."

"Thanks, Ange." She said with a pause. Angela gave a supportive nod, and Temperance took a cleansing breath before walking quickly from the room to make necessary arrangements.

* * *

Grace sat on the cot, her knees drawn up to her chest as she stared across at the door. Jared lay on the ground across the room, still struggling with the ropes on his hands. "Come on, kid." Jared said. "Grace, please help me? I can get you out if you help me."

Grace's attention went to the man, and she crawled from the bed and slowly walked toward him. Her little pink pants had smudges of dirt on them, her face streaked with tears and dirt, and her hands clenched her shirt tightly, as she twisted it in her hands. She walked toward Jared, and then turned abruptly, moving toward the door. "Grace, come on!"

Softly, she hummed under her breath, walking back and forth for a moment, she looked toward the door, and then moved to the wall. "Grace?" Jared said, watching her press her ear against the wall. "Grace, what is it? Is someone coming? Come on, answer me." She turned her head and glared at him, bringing her finger to her lips in an indication for him to be quiet.

"I can hear the little boy." She whispered. "He's crying."

"You can hear Seeley?" Jared asked, struggling against the ropes around his hands, he tried to force himself toward her. "Grace, can you hear him? Seeley!" Jared shouted, watching as Grace was startled, not expecting him to shout. He gave her an apologetic look and could see her lip trembling. "You're alright, Grace. You're okay..." He whispered, though his words did very little too soothe her. "Seeley! It's daddy! Seeley, can you hear me?" He screamed, crawling toward the wall. Grace skittered across the room from him, tripping over herself, she fell forward onto the floor, her hand scraping on the floor as she landed. "Grace! Are you okay?" He asked, as suddenly she let out a wailing cry. "Grace!" Jared exclaimed, unable to get to her to calm her, he watched her lying on the floor sobbing into the concrete. He grunted as he crawled across the floor on his belly toward her, just as the door flew open.

"Hey, what the hell are you doing?" A man exclaimed as he stepped through the doorway. He watched Jared crawling across the floor and swore in Spanish as he grabbed Jared by his shirt collar and pulled him hard.

"Let go of me!" Jared exclaimed. "Let go of me, she fell!"

The man lifted the girl into his arms, and she pushed away from him, shouting loudly. She screamed on top of her lungs and leaned down, biting his arm. She dropped to the ground hard, losing his grip on the tiny girl, and she scrambled to her feet. "Don't touch me!" She screamed.

"I'm just trying to make sure you're alright." He said, sincere as he was, she wasn't going to let him near her. He wasn't angry like the other man she had seen, he didn't have hate in his eyes. "I just want to make sure you're alright." He said.

"NO!" She screamed. "Stay away!" She screamed, beginning to breath heavily, he watched her attempt to hyperventilate.

"Breathe." He said, stepping closer, he watched her breathe harder.

"Just leave her the hell alone!" Jared screamed.

"You shut up." He shouted at Jared, he turned back to Grace, and she was staring straight ahead. Her eyes were fluttering as she trembled. Her eyes rolled back. "What's she doing? What's going on?"

"She's having a seizure, you idiot!" Jared exclaimed.

"What do you mean a seizure? What's…what do I do?" He exclaimed, panicking, he rushed to Grace and touched her shoulders. Suddenly, her eyes cleared and she looked at the man blankly for a moment. Her lips trembled as she stared at the stranger, her hand clenching to her side. "Are you okay?" he asked. And suddenly, a fist landed squarely in the eye, surprising him, as the little girl made a run for it.

"No, Grace!" Jared exclaimed, as the man recovered quickly, chasing her out of the room.

"Get back here you little monster!" He exclaimed, running after her, he grabbed her around the waist just as she reached the door.

She kicked and screamed as he turned around, glaring at Jared. "You just earned yourself a trip to the dark room." He said, turning around. He let out a sickening laugh, as he slammed the door closed, leaving Jared alone, shouting for him to stop.


	33. King Of The Lab

"Let go of me you big ape! Let go!" Grace shouted, struggling in the man's arms, he sighed in exasperation and swung open another door. The room was dark, and he couldn't see anything in front of him, but he knew what was inside. Grace clawed and climbed at him, shouting for him to let her go. With an effortless swing, he tossed her into the room, and slammed the door behind her, rubbing at the newly drawn blood that was rolling down his arm from the scratch Grace had left there during her struggle. He walked away from the room to the sound of her screaming and shouting, as he walked down to inform his boss of the change of rooms for the little girl.

Grace had landed on the hard floor, her eyes not adjusted to the darkness, she closed them quickly and pressed her forehead to the floor for a moment. Her seizure had tired her, but waking from it to see that man staring in her face only released the ire she was holding back. She had seen an opportunity, and tried her best to take advantage.

She could feel her warm breath against the floor, a thin, musty carpet was at her fingertips, and she listened for a moment. She heard sniffling behind her and slowly rolled to her side and listened.

"Hello?" The small voice from within the darkened room whimpered.

"Little boy?" She whispered.

"Gracie?" Seeley whispered.

"Are you okay?" She asked, listening to her own breathing. Her body was sore from falling, and she could still taste the man's dirty skin in her mouth from when she bit him, and made her sick to her stomach.

"I'm okay." He whimpered. "I want my daddy." He said, from the darkness.

"I saw your daddy. He's here." She said, hearing a gasp from the boy, she sat up slowly.

"He's here?" Seeley asked hopefully, he turned and slapped his hands against the walls. "Daddy!" He screamed. "Daddy!"

Grace moved toward his, voice, tripping over him, they ended up rolling on the floor for a moment, as Seeley continued to scream out for his father. "Wait!" She exclaimed, covering his mouth for a moment. "Your daddy isn't here to help us, they have him too. We need to find our way out of here." She said softly.

"Maybe your mommy will find us. She catches bad guys." Seeley whispered.

"You don't want my mommy to find us." Grace said with a pause. "She finds dead people."

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open, and light filtered inside. "Grab them both." An angry voice growled from the doorway, as the man from moments earlier strode into the room and reached for the collars of the two children. Seeley squealed in fear, while Grace simply gritted her teeth and held her breath, keeping her eyes open for any opportunity for escape.

* * *

Booth strode through the lab, his eyes were directed to Temperance's office, and only her office. He kept his pace and ignored the strange silence that had filled the lab following his entrance. "Bones." He called out. He didn't sound angry, but determined. He didn't sound broken, but passionate. "Bones?" He called again.

Temperance stepped out of her office quickly, her eyes focused on his. "Anything?"

"We have to do a drop." He replied. "Did you find anything new with the video?" He asked, seeing the strength quickly returning to her eyes. The slight nod sent his feet into a forward motion, and they walked quickly toward Angela's office together. There was a quick brush of their hands, enough to send small shivers of electricity through them, but keep their focus on what was important. She led the way into the office, and Angela turned to Booth.

"What did we find?"

Angela didn't pause for a moment, and launched into a precise explanation and theory of where they could possibly be held. She explained that the walls appeared to be made of cinder blocks, crudely painted, as if the color didn't matter. There were some old sports equipment, some tools relating to cars and she explained that she had entered the type of tire that was in the background of one of the frames into her database, and pulled a match.

"It's a bus tire."

"A bus? What kind of bus?"

"I'm not sure yet."

"Well, this isn't very much help, is it?" Booth snapped. "So they are being held somewhere there is a bus? Do you have any idea how many bus garages there are in Washington D.C.?"

"Booth." Temperance said, touching his arm.

"Where is the money?" He asked, unapologetically.

"The bank is waiting for us to get there, to sign the papers. How are we going to do the drop?" She asked. "What are the details?"

Angela took no offense to Booth's rage, and simply continued working on the analysis, and put her focus completely on finding the little girl, and nothing else. Just as Booth was going to answer Temperance, there was another beep from his phone, and he took a step from Temperance to take a look. The text before the video simply said, 'A Little Motivation'.

The video ran, and it showed one man from the chest down, his hands on the collars of the two children. Seeley was struggling, his voice high and angry as he sobbed. His reaction was typical of a child frightened out of his mind. He twisted in the grip of the other man, pulling angrily and crying out. Grace on the other hand was still. Her blue eyes stared directly into the camera, and her hands moved in front of her slightly.

"Booth?" Temperance said, staring over his shoulder at the video, he jumped at the sound of her voice. He didn't realize that she had moved in and was now watching the video. "What is she doing with her hands?" She asked, watching Booth stare at the video.

"I'm not sure." He whispered. He looked up at Angela. "Ange, pull this video up on the screen." He tossed the phone to her, and she caught it with ease, instantly putting it into the docking station.

In another moment, the screen lit up with the new video. The sound was muted, but the pain and cries of Seeley could still be seen, and for the three adults, it simply broke their heart. They watched Grace's hands, moving in a strange motion, they couldn't tell if she was seizing, or if she was just struggling. What they didn't see in the moment that Angela had tossed the phone, was the way she swung her body, and kicked her captor, shouting out something before he tossed her to the floor.

Temperance and Angela gasped, Booth simply clicked his jaw. "This looks like a different room." Booth's voice interrupted the women's moment of fear. "Are there any more clues in this room?" He asked, poking his finger so hard into the board, that the image fluctuated for a moment. "I need clues, damn it!" Booth shouted. "There isn't enough time!"

The video started back up again, and they began to gather information, when suddenly two small feet could be heard barreling into the office. "Mommy, mommy!" JV squealed, looking behind him for Hodgins, who was obviously chasing him.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Angela said as she picked him up, turning him away from the screen as quickly as she could, Hodgins appeared at the door. "I thought you weren't coming until later."

"No." Hodgins said with a shake of his head. Angela was going to ask him why he didn't have the nanny watch JV, or bring him to preschool, but she knew from their conversation the night before, that he was feeling nervous leaving their son behind. He just needed to know that he was safe, and Angela understood completely. She was always happy to see her boy, but the images they were watching weren't for the little boy's eyes. "We need to do this now. We need to find her. I had the FBI send over the clothes of that idiot that picked up Jared. I've already started the analysis… he got away from me. I'm sorry."

"Gracie!" JV exclaimed, seeing his friend on the screen. "Mommy, why is that man holding her?" He asked, his voice trembling. "Mommy… Mommy, where's Gracie?"

"Jack, please." Angela said, stepping toward Hodgins, she pulled his grip from her and handed him over to his father. She took a step back, trying to block the screen.

"I'm sorry." Hodgins said, Temperance and Booth nodded in understanding.

"Wheels on the bus go round and round… round and round…all the way to school." JV started exclaiming as they left the room.

Suddenly Booth turned. "Jack, wait!" He said, rushing to the doorway, he left Temperance and Angela confused at his exclamation. Even Parker jumped at the sound of his father's voice, now fully awake from the commotion. He got to Hodgins and looked at JV. "Buddy… the wheels on the bus?"

"Yes." JV smiled. "That's what Gracie was doing." He said, moving his hands in a motion slightly faster than what Grace was doing on the video. "See… wheels on the bus go round and…"

"You're sure?"

"Yes." He said, trying to glance around Booth.

Booth looked to Hodgins, who lifted his eyebrows expectantly. "If you don't mind." He said, holding his arms out to JV.

"No problem."

"Alright, kiddo… you're going to help us save Gracie." He said, feeling confident that this was a clue from his daughter. He turned to Hodgins. "King of the lab." He said, nodding toward the little boy, as he whisked him away toward Brennan's office, hoping to gain some insight from this possible clue.


	34. Sinners and Saints

1:24 PM

Booth and Temperance sat in the cold silence of the SUV, listening to the breathing of the other person. They were several blocks from the school bus garage that had been identified as the possible hideout for the kidnappers, and had silently agreed that they needed several moments to gather their thoughts, and talk of strategy, and restrict their thoughts from the inevitable possibilities.

JV's nugget of a clue was enough information to provide a direction for the team. They focused on the tire, and determined that it was a specific brand and size for a school bus. There weren't any signs, or other indications that could lead them to a direct location, but thorough analysis would conclude that there were over fifty school bus garages in the area that were no longer being used. Several were recently demolished; their information was pulled from the screen. Hodgins determined that the type of tire they had identified at the scene was typically found on older style busses. They were larger, and wider than the typical school bus tire on more modern vehicles. He then put that information, along with the data on all garages that housed those types of busses either recently, or in the past. He then determined that within a ten mile radius of the drop location, there were only two bus garages that fit the proper parameters.

Tips had come in about the one closest to the tracks, an abandoned bus garage that sometimes housed activity busses, but hadn't been used in recent years. Unoccupied and among the industrial buildings near the railroad tracks, a source had mentioned some activity in the area. Booth and Temperance decided to take the lead on it, waiting for the signal from the people dropping off the money for any indication that the children and Jared would be released.

There was a SWAT team within distance, waiting for a signal from Booth. Both Booth and Temperance were positive this was going to be the location. It was within two miles of where Jared's ride had been found, and everything else fit perfectly. The only thing left to do was wait.

"Have you called Christopher?" Temperance whispered.

Booth looked to his wife, and paused for a moment, unsure of why of all things, she would mention Harding in their current situation. "He's fine, Bones."

"You understand that wasn't the question I asked, correct?" Temperance raised an eyebrow at her husband.

"I talked to Rebecca." Booth replied. "Ace is resting." He said, noting the lines of worry on her face become a little less intense. "When all of this is through…" Booth sighed.

"There will a lot of decisions to make." She replied, touching his arm. He swallowed tightly and gave her a nod of appreciation, putting his hand on hers. "When we're through with all of this, when our baby is back… we are all going to take a very long vacation."

"Agreed." Booth replied, releasing a breath in a heavy sigh. He closed his eyes tightly and held his wife's hand, and together they prepared for their mission.

* * *

The children had been tossed again into the darkened room with no want or care for their safety, or how they landed. Both of them had recovered quickly, and Grace grasped for Seeley's arm.

"Are you okay?" Seeley whispered.

"Yes." She said, swallowing hard, her tiny hand gripped his arm. She was trying so hard to be brave, but her hope was quickly slipping away. "I want to go home." She said softly.

"I do too." He said, holding her closely, he was surprised that she allowed him to comfort her. He could feel the tiny girl start to cry against him, burying her head in his chest for a moment, she trembled. "Don't cry, I'm here." He whispered. "We'll get out of here, I promise." He said, unsure that he believed his own words.

* * *

The man stepped away from the room and walked down the hallway toward the garage office. He rounded the corner just as two of the other men climbed into a white van, and the doors opened slowly. He watched the metal door open, the deceiving sunlight outside shining in on the dark and dank appearance of the old garage. His eyes were focused on the sunlight, when he felt a hand pat him hard on the back. "Nick, my friend. Just a little more time." He said, a thick accent breaking his speech as Nick turned to look at his boss, the man calling the shots.

"Phillip and Mack are on their way to get the money… then we're out of here." He said with a nod.

"What about the kids? What about Jared?" Nick asked, still unsure of his boss' intentions. He felt that they had all gotten in a little too deeply with all of this, but he wasn't about to speak his mind. He was well aware of what would happen if he did that, so he simply played dumb.

"When they call and say they picked up the money?" He said with a sickening laugh, his gold tooth glistening in the sunlight from the open garage door. He turned and pulled a gun from his belt, grasping it by the muzzle, he handed it to Nick. "Shoot 'em all in the head." He said, turning away, he walked down the hallway toward the small office area, the echo of his laugh bouncing off the walls mockingly.

* * *

Booth slid down in his seat a little, his foot was tapping wildly on the floorboard of the SUV, and he could feel his wife's eyes on him. He turned his head and caught her gaze. The look on her face was determined, mixed with fear, mixed with concern, but there was something on the edge, something right at the corner of his lips that almost looked like amusement. "What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"You." She said, without hesitation. She was keeping her voice low, but wasn't sure why. They weren't hiding from anyone, just waiting for a signal, but still her voice was wavering with a husky tone. "You, and me."

"What about you and me?" He asked, turning slightly in his seat.

"Working as partners again."

"We're always partners, Bones. In everything."

"We haven't worked like this on a case in a very, very long time, Booth." She whispered.

"What are you saying? I'm rusty?"

"No." She shook her head. "But before…" She replied. "I mean, when we worked together all of the time we had certain cues, and strategies, that we'd employ in certain situations. It has been a while."

"Bones." Booth said, sitting up, he reached across at the glove compartment, and down into it. He pressed a number code on the small safe in its depth, and Temperance could hear the gentle clunking of the object he was removing from its safety box. "We never talked about cues, or back up… we just knew how to do it. You watch my back, I watch yours." He said, holding a pistol in his hand, he waited for her to take it. "Bones?"

"I don't want a gun." She shook her head. "I don't want to go in there with a gun."

"Bones… it's for your own protection."

"Booth, I didn't have a gun back then, and I am most certainly not going to have one now, when our child is in there… I will not have her watch me hold a gun on another human being."

"Bones, this is for your protection too. We have no idea how many people are in there."

She looked him in the eyes. "I will not hold a gun to another human being in front of my child." She stated slowly and deliberately. She could see that he understood, that he respected her decision, but also could see the fear. "I understand that you feel the pressure to protect me, but I've been doing this for a very long time, I know how to protect myself."

"At least take a set of cuffs." He said, pulling handcuffs from the compartment, she took them reluctantly. "Even if you don't use them, Bones."

"Fine." She said, sliding the cuffs into the pocket of her jacket, she glanced out of the window toward the rows of industrial buildings that lined the tracks.

She didn't look away when the sound of the police radio crackled. She listed for her husband's response. He identified himself and waited for their information.

"Deuce, they're showing five warm bodies in the building. Two smaller, three larger."

"That's probably them." Booth said into the radio. He looked to his wife, who was clenching her jaw and still looking out of the window. "What do you want to do, Bones?"

She turned her eyes onto him, and he already had his answer. "Hold back. Bones and I are going to go in, and I'll radio you when it's good to go. Keep the building surrounded, but stay covert. We still want the drop to go down, otherwise we won't have the ones that are out of the building."

"Got it." The man on the radio said softly.

He put an earbud in and caught his wife's eye again. "What?" He asked.

"Deuce?" She questioned, her voice a little higher, and slightly more amused.

"That's what all the cool kids call me." Booth replied as he grabbed her hand. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," she nodded.

"Good." Booth said. "Let's go for a little walk." He said, as they both exited the SUV, and quietly made their way toward the industrial buildings.


	35. Saviors and Sacrifice

The flak jacket was heavy on Temperance's chest, her breathing regulated and slow as she attempted to control the one thing she knew she could control. She glanced down at the radio on her buckle, and gritted her teeth as she looked to her husband. She noticed that Booth had stowed the extra gun at his back. She shook her head at his boldness, but said nothing to him about it. She could tell by his posture, the stiffness in his back, that he was in this until the end, and that he wasn't going to leave this building without Grace.

Her reasons were not as pure as Booth may have thought, and she was fairly sure that he knew that. Before Booth, before everything, compartmentalizing was the only way she functioned. However, Temperance found that with motherhood, the illogical was the way things tended to go. Nothing fit in neat little boxes, and above all else, her children's lives and the lives of those she loved and cared for came first and foremost. Temperance was very aware of her motherly instinct, and very aware of the power that came with a gun in her hand. If she had that gun, and the opportunity, she would shoot to kill the man endangering her child's life. Though the prospect initially seemed completely rational to her, her daughter's well being took precedence, it was in Grace's best interest to be tactical, and not driven by murderous rage.

Booth moved around the building fluidly, keeping his hand out for Temperance to stay back until he cleared it, they focused on the metal building several yards away, and moved toward it with cat like precision.

* * *

Nick stood outside the door where the children were being held, pacing back and forth, he couldn't believe how quiet they were. His sister had seven children, and they were never quiet, so their silence surprised him. He could still hear Jared in one of the other bays, shouting out for his son, for help, for anything, and then the sound of his boss shouting at him to shut up.

He held the gun in his hand, pacing back and forth as he pictured the two children in the room. He didn't want to shoot them, he hadn't even wanted to kidnap them. He had a family too, people that he cared for, his nieces, and nephews. Sweat rolled down his face as he paced, clutching the gun in his hand, he heard the sound of his boss kicking Jared to shut him up. He flinched at the sound of each kick, the sound of Jared's shouting becoming weaker.

* * *

Booth and Temperance moved toward the open door of the garage, to most anyone, the SWAT team that was surrounding them would be virtually invisible. Booth knew their positions, and whispered into the radio that he was going in.

Temperance stayed back a foot or two, the sound of shouting rang in their ears. Booth could taste the blood in his mouth from biting the side of his cheek, his eyes focused on Temperance, and she nodded that she was ready. Booth stepped around the corner, and slinked into the open garage door. They walked along the wall toward the source of the shouting. The door was closed, and there was no telling what was on the other side of the door. Suddenly, the door swung open, Brennan slid around the corner out of sight, and Booth had his gun on the man exiting the room.

Booth shouted for him to put his gun down, and the man swung the assault rifle on his shoulder to the ready. "I recommend you put your gun down." He said, his voice oddly calm, his eyes cold and emotionless.

Booth almost faltered, his eyes staring into this man's face, all he could picture was his daughter's face, her eyes opening at the sound of that gunshot.

"That isn't going to happen." Booth growled.

"You're a little out matched, don't you think?" He said coldly.

Booth wanted to tell him that the place was surrounded, wanted to say that it was all over, but something stopped him. He couldn't find his voice, he couldn't quite swallow the lump in his throat. Suddenly, the door swung open, slamming into the side of the man, sending a hail of bullets into the air. Booth ducked, and Jared came staggering out of the room. The recovery of the suspect though was quicker, and before anyone could make a move, he was on his feet running across the garage. Booth screamed for him to stop, running after him as quickly as he could, his feet slamming into the ground as he dodged the objects that the other man threw in his path.

Temperance stepped around the corner to see Jared falling to his knees, pale and bleeding, he fell into her arms. "Jared, where are the kids?" She begged, holding him carefully, she tried to assess the damage to him. "Jared, where are they?" She exclaimed.

"I don't know." He groaned. "I don't know where they have them."

* * *

Nick heard the shots and thought about running. He found though, that his feet were firmly planted to the ground. Suddenly, his boss came running around the corner, his eyes wild as he pushed past him. "Give me your gun!" he exclaimed, grabbing the gun from Nick, he nearly knocked him over as he swung the door open to the darkened room .

Like a shot, Seeley came running from the room, his feet sending him directly toward Booth. "RUN SEELEY!" The sound of a little girl's scream came from the room. Booth didn't think for a second, he swung the butt of his gun around and sent Nick tumbling to the ground unconscious. He turned just as he grabbed Seeley, and saw Temperance rounding the corner. "Bones! Call for back up! Now!" He exclaimed, setting Seeley to the ground, the boy ran to her. Booth kicked the door open and entered the room blindly.

As soon as he got into the room, he stopped, the door slammed closed, and he was engulfed in darkness. He whispered an expletive and swallowed hard. "Listen." Booth growled. "The entire building is surrounded, so you're better off just giving up."

Suddenly, the room was shattered by the sound of struggling, the man was obviously holding Grace somewhere in the room, but Booth couldn't see anything. "Gracie, it's daddy…" he said, out of breath. He found that he was trembling. "Daddy is going to get you out of here…"

"Oh is he?" The man's sickening voice broke the silence. "The gun I have on her head says that I might be the one taking her out." He cackled.

Booth walked along the wall, careful not to trip over anything in the darkness, he could feel the cold steel of the wall. His feet shuffled along the floor carefully. "She isn't part of this." Booth growled. "Just let her go."

"I'm not letting her go until I have my money, and I am out of here." He said angrily. His voice was so calm that just the sound of it sent chills up Booth's spine.

"She isn't part of this." Booth said again.

"Who the hell are you, anyway? Coming in here, guns blazing like that. Pretty brash. You a cop?" He asked.

Booth attempted to force himself to relax his nerves, having been out of practice for years, his parental instincts were in danger of taking over. "I work for the Secret Service." Booth replied.

"Shit." The suspect laughed. "Jared Booth's brother works for the Secret Service." He laughed a sickening laugh.

The sound of the little girl struggling could be heard, and the muffled sound of her voice was killing Booth with each second. "Grace… Gracie please, daddy is here." He said. "Just let her go, please… please just let her go."

"I think instead, I'm going to splatter her pretty little brains all over this…" Suddenly, the man shouted.

"DADDY!" Grace screamed.

"That little runt bit me!" The man shouted as Booth heard a scuffle. He jumped through the darkened room toward the sound of the other man's voice, slamming head on into a large body, they flew into the wall, and Booth felt something sharp push into his side as the struggling man beneath him ceased to fight back. Booth stumbled backwards, unsure of what had happened, he touched his side and felt the warm wetness of blood, and the sting of pain.

"Bones!" He screamed. "Bones, help!" He stumbled as he felt the heat of white pain hitting him.

"Daddy!" Grace shouted through the dark room. "Daddy!" She sobbed, as she felt Booth fall to the ground at her feet as she launched herself onto his motionless body and his blood saturated her clothes.


	36. All Of The Rest

The floor felt warm beneath his body, warm and wet, and his arm lifted as it clasped hold of the shaking body on top of his. The squealing cry that escaped the child's lips was deafening, breaking his heart that he couldn't do more. He couldn't move any more than to wrap his arm tightly around the screaming child that gripped him with all of her strength. He could hear her screaming call, feel her hot tears rolling down his skin as she begged him to say something.

Suddenly, there was light in the room, Booth tried to roll, tried to keep his arm firmly against his daughter, and hold her there against the safety of his body. Sounds were muffled, and he held his grip against Grace, and nothing was going to allow her to be taken from him, nothing.

"Booth." Temperance's voice echoed through the fog. It was deep and tense, and he could feel something pulling at Grace. The connection of Temperance's voice, and the hold he had on the little girl didn't connect in his befuddled mind, so he held his grip. "Booth, you have to let go of her. I'm here… I'm here, please…" She begged. "I love you, please let me save you, please." She begged.

Booth kept his hold on the girl, her face in his neck. He heard her soft whisper in his ear, but was sure that it was probably louder than he could sense. "It's mommy, Daddy. Mommy will take care of me." She said to him, and reluctantly he allowed the warmth of her body to be pulled from his. He was trembling and couldn't remember if he was cold or warm. His mouth was dry, and the light seemed almost blinding.

There were sounds of footsteps and voices, and he could hear his daughter, feel his wife's hand against his skin. He wanted to whisper to her, that he loved her, that he didn't want to die. He wanted to hold her hand and be happy that they had saved Grace and Seeley, he wanted to cry for joy that she was safe again. Instead, he faced the darkness of his eyelids, and the sights and sounds faded quickly, and all was suddenly silent.

Temperance kept her voice low and even as the EMTs surrounded her husband. Grace held onto her mother with all of the strength that she could muster. Seeley was also holding onto her, and Temperance was quickly losing any strength that she had. "Booth." She said, the tension in her voice was overwhelming. "Booth, don't fall asleep!" She called, watching as his blank stare disappeared, his eyelids closing.

"Ma'am, he's going into shock, we have to get him out of here." The EMT said, just as the gurney was pushed into the room. Flashlights filled the room, and morbid shadows bounced off the wall as the rest of the SWAT team assessed the scene. She felt like she was in a whirlpool, spinning and turning in endless circles as the visions around her assaulted her. The man that Booth had chased was lying dead against the wall, a sharp metal pole driven through his body. Temperance just looked at the crime scene and could see the entire thing unfolding before her. The force of Booth's body slamming into him, had sent him hurtling downward toward the protruding metal bar, sending his full weight and Booth's onto the pole. It appeared to have skewered him right through the soft tissue of his abdomen, ripping through organs and coming out the other side, stabbing Booth in the side, as the other man's body hit the wall.

Booth had managed to pull himself off the pipe, and the blood loss had been immense, sending him to the ground, where she had found him. What they hadn't learned just yet, was that if Grace hadn't laid upon him with her whole weight, if she hadn't unknowingly kept the pressure on the wound on her father's side, he'd have been dead in moments.

Temperance watched the EMTs work over his body, lifting him onto the gurney, as the chaos around her seemed to echo off the walls. She heard someone saying her name, but it didn't register. She heard the voice again, and still couldn't keep her eyes off her husband. "Doctor Brennan." The voice said again.

She turned, her jaw slack for just a split second before she focused on the EMT in front of her. "We can take the children." He said. "Check them over."

Temperance could feel the tight grip of both of the children on her, and she suddenly realized how soaked Grace was in her father's blood. She still hadn't even assessed the situation properly, and immediately had a blanket of guilt wash over her. Her stare was still blank at the EMT, and her eyes flashed to the gurney as they exited, still working on Booth as they went.

"Booth." She whispered.

"If you prefer to do this on the way…?" He asked.

"Yes." She replied, allowing the EMT to help her follow the gurney.

The light of the afternoon nearly blinded her, and the troops of law enforcement officers at the scene seemed to surprise her. Everything was making her jump, and the feeling that she would be choosing either her daughter or her husband first, was pulling her apart at the seams. Temperance's thoughts flashed back to the moment when she had opened the door, to the way he was holding Grace against him, protecting her even in his weakest moments.

Grace and Seeley were still crying, but seemed more frightened than injured. Jared had already been sent away in an ambulance, and the other suspect had been cuffed and escorted away from the scene. Temperance had heard one of the SWAT members mention that they had caught the men at the cash drop off, and they were now in custody as well. She remembered not caring about money, or her own wellbeing, but simply needing Booth to survive. She needed that to live.

All of the rest could wait.


	37. Don't Let Go

The lights of the ambulances were mesmerizing, the sirens sounded much louder than they ever had in the past. Temperance's eyes focused on the flashing of the lights for a moment, and then walked purposefully toward the ambulance they were lifting her husband into.

"Ma'am?" A young EMT said, stepping in front of her, she stopped and tried to walk around him.

"My husband is… I need to go with my husband." She said. He stepped in her way and held his arm out to her.

"There isn't going to be enough room, ma'am. Not for both you and the children." He said. Her eyes were watching as they continued to work on Booth, trying desperately to keep him alive.

The air seemed thicker suddenly, her breathing labored. "No." She whimpered, taking a step forward. "No, I need… I need to be with him."

"Ma'am, there just isn't any room. We can take the children, if you want to go with him, but there isn't enough room for…"

"Shut up!" She shouted. Her voice echoed and she could feel the children in her arms jump at the pure venom in her voice. He took a step back, but continued to block her view. He looked back to one of the other EMTs for assistance. It was clear she wasn't in her right mind, and with Booth's life in the balance, it was certain that she wouldn't be returning to it any time soon. "Just take me to my husband." She growled.

"We need to get him to…" He started to argue, but Temperance was already pushing past him toward the ambulance.

The children were clinging to her, and her arms were growing tired, aching from their weight. She simply couldn't bring herself to put them down, or didn't notice the increasing weakness from holding them so tightly for so long. Her eyes flashed to the building again, a black bag carried on a gurney from the crime scene. The bag that contained the body of her child's kidnapper was moving as if in slow motion across her field of vision. For a moment, there was no air in her lungs.

"Doctor Brennan." A voice startled her, and she stumbled as she turned, the sounds and sights blending as exhaustion suddenly swept over her. "Whoa…" The voice said, as two strong arms grabbed hold of her, steadied her, and she found her face buried in the chest of one of the SWAT members. Her knees buckled for a moment, and then she recovered. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, though only as a courtesy. "I need someone over here!" He called. "She's in distress!"

"No!" She exclaimed suddenly, feeling the arms of an EMT try to pull the children from her, she gripped them both tightly again, and tried to pull away. "Stop! Don't take my baby!" She screamed.

Grace's sobs became louder, and she gripped her mother tighter, but the people surrounding her could see that she wasn't going to be standing much longer, and carefully extracted both children from Brennan's arms. Grace kicked and screamed, Seeley simply clung to anyone who would take him, and Brennan lunged for the man holding her daughter. The SWAT officer who had grabbed her initially attempted to hold her back. Temperance let out a tortured scream toward the EMTs as they walked toward a waiting ambulance.

"Let me have my baby! I need my baby!" She screamed.

Amid the chaos of her exhausted fit, the ambulance that held Booth had been closed, and the siren screamed its warning. Her head snapped in the direction of the vehicle, the red lights slamming into her retinas as the wailing siren seemed to scream her name. "No!" She screamed, so loudly that her throat exploded in pain.

She then stopped her struggle with the officer in regard to getting Grace, and took off in a full run after the ambulance. The gravel from beneath the tires spit out in her direction, pelting her as she ran. Officers chased her, watching as she dropped to her knees on the ground, and if she had any voice left, a horrifying wail would have been released. The SWAT officer from moments earlier was the first to catch up, slamming into the gravel beside her, his arm wrapped around her instantly. The hat on his head flew off, his black hair wet with perspiration, as he gathered her in his arms. Instead of pushing away, she felt herself giving in and pulling the body closer, if only because she was in need of some kind of support, some kind of human contact at that very moment. It was obvious that she was no longer thinking with a clear mind at all.

"It's alright." The man spoke in a deep voice. "It's okay… Deuce will be alright." He said softly.

Temperance gripped his flak jacket tightly for a moment, the words he had spoken were not lost on her. She then pushed away for a moment, and looked up at his face. His green eyes were blazing, emotion wrought within them, though she could feel the solid strength in his arms. She could still hear the siren blaring in her ears. She could still feel the gravel in her face and feel it in her mouth. She could see the ashen skin of her husband as he suffered on the gurney, and hear the last words he uttered. "I can't let him die." She whispered.

"And neither can those people in the back of that ambulance." He said sternly.

"Mommy!" Grace's voice pierced through the chaos, and Temperance's attention moved to the tiny form running at her. "Mommy! Mommy!" She screamed, looking for all the world that she was being chased. The blood soaked clothes that hung from her body were still wet and sticky, and the blankets the EMTs had given her was thrown from her shoulders as she ran barefooted toward her mother. "Mommy!" She exclaimed, tackling into her mother, the officer sat back and let the little girl land in her mother's arms.

Temperance held her tightly, feeling her arms envelop the child, it was the first moment of realization of what had happened. "My baby." She whispered, gripping her child tightly for a moment, she pulled from her hug and looked her directly in the eyes. "Oh God, I love you so much, baby." She whispered, pulling her in for a tighter hug, Temperance rocked back and forth. "I love you so much, I love you." She repeated over and over again, squeezing the tiny girl so tightly.

"I love you, mama." She sobbed. "I love you… I love you." She answered. "Please don't leave me! Please!" Grace's entire body was trembling, and her breathing was erratic as she clung to her mother. Temperance could see the officer was holding his arm out to her, and was pulling himself from the ground. She took it without question, pulling herself to her feet. His arm was around her in a moment, supporting her, holding her up, and together they walked toward the waiting ambulance.

It must have been sheer luck that she made it to the ambulance, and maybe it was just the knowledge that they would be heading in the same direction as Booth, but she clamored into the back of the vehicle with the help of the SWAT officer, and found that she couldn't quite let go of his arm as she balanced herself. He took the step up with her, and waited for a moment for her to catch her bearings.

Her hand remained clasped on his arm, and she tried to stand on her own, but couldn't find the strength. She felt him pulling her to her feet carefully, and gently took a step back with him, where he knelt before her as she sat on the small bench beside the empty gurney. "Doctor Brennan, are you okay? Is this okay?" he asked, trying to get her to look at him. She focused on his eyes.

Her eyes asked a question, and he smiled politely. He was a younger man, younger than Booth, closer to Ace's age, but he had a look in his eyes like he had seen it all. Suddenly, he turned from her, and she almost found herself reaching for him. He turned for the door of the ambulance, and lifted Seeley into the ambulance. The boy held onto him tightly, and the officer said something to the EMT as he took a step back, and the door closed behind them.

Temperance watched as he took a step back, holding onto Seeley tightly as he went, he sat on the bench beside Temperance, and just as suddenly, the ambulance started moving. He glanced to Temperance and saw her wobbling slightly, her eyes unfocused as the ambulance moved. He put his arm around her just as the siren began to wail, and they were quickly on their way to the hospital.


	38. Dust In The Wind

A gentle whisper broke through the cold place he was in.

Soft, angelic, peaceful.

It echoed off the walls of his mind, and melted into the fog that clouded his thoughts. He could feel pain, and a burning sensation through his body. His nerve endings tingled. Flashes of light and flames, fire shocked his system.

His brain was flashing memories on and off, pictures of people, sounds that were unearthly, and explosions. A sharp ringing sound pierced his mind, and pain and flames roared around him. He could see the heat in the air, but couldn't touch it. It was burning, but so cold to the touch.

The whisper in his mind echoed again and again. It was a small voice, a small and innocent voice. Whispers.

_Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, Please come around._

Explosions made him jump. He was whole but not complete, he was awake but still asleep.

A haunting voice chided him, again and again.

Dad-dy. Dad-dy. Dad-dy.

_Something is lost and must be found._

Again and again, soft voices whispered in a sing song voice, and the cold seemed to intensify as the explosions were louder. He was being shaken, and loud sirens wailed around him. Screams echoed in his mind and fire burned around him, throwing him aside.

There was a weight on his chest, a weight on his body that he couldn't explain, and couldn't call out for help, for his voice was missing, and he wouldn't know who to call out for in the first place. He could hear Temperance's voice, pleading, begging.

Darkness enveloped the fog, and he felt damp and cold, he could feel sharp fingernails in his chest and feel a small body against him.

Antonia? Toni.

He could hear the shouting of men, hear the small voice against him, calling to him.

Daddy. Daddy. Daddy.

_Saint Anthony, Saint Anthony, please come around._

Then it all disappeared, darkness.

He felt like he was floating, his mind racing against time, against death. Panic would set in if there was a need for panic, but there was nothing but dark silence.

The darkness was deep and impenetrable. His sleep was restful and inviting.

_Something is lost and must be found._

* * *

The ambulance doors opened, and Temperance stood immediately. Grace had calmed herself with her thumb planted between her lips, and curled her tiny body into her mother. The SWAT officer stood, blocking her exit.

"What do you think you're doing?" She asked. Her voice was stern and angry, wavering in a fearful manner.

"They're not going to let you see him." He said, shifting Seeley in his arms. The boy clung tightly to the stranger, only feeling secure because he had no other choice.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" She asked, trying to push around him.

"Doctor Brennan, they're not going to let you see him. Not with two children, not if he goes to surgery." The officer said calmly, trying not to alarm the already irate wife and mother. "We have to let the doctors do their jobs." He said, watching Temperance glower at him. "You know as well as I do, they're not going to let you past those doors, so the best thing we can do is take care of the children, and have them give us updates on his condition." He said, holding his arm out to stop her.

Temperance wasn't one to be held back, however, and though she knew the officer was correct, it only seemed logical to keep fighting. "I didn't let him back into my life just so that he could die again." She said, pushing through his arm. She turned around as soon as she jumped from the back of the ambulance, still holding her daughter tightly. "I will NOT be sitting at his gravestone any time soon." She growled. She took a step toward the hospital doors, she came to a stop as she noticed the other ambulance bay was busy with activity. She couldn't tell one ambulance from the next, but she knew that Booth's had been right in front of theirs.

"Doctor Brennan, are you okay?" The officer asked, stepping up behind her. Her eyes flashed to him, and he could see that her face was quickly going pale. "It's okay." He whispered. "It'll be okay." He said.

The gurney in the ambulance was then removed from the back of the ambulance, and Brennan watched as the EMTs seemed to slow considerably. She recognized them from the scene, from the chaos that had surrounded them in those panic driven moments just before the ambulance drove off with Booth. She recognized the young EMT that had spoken to her. His eyes lifted to hers, and she could see the immediate sorrow in their depths.

"No." She said, her breath catching in her throat. Her mouth was clasped closed, and her breathing was becoming erratic. Short spurts of air escaped her lungs, but far too quickly to recover. She stumbled forward, still holding Grace tightly to her.

Grace looked up, witnessing what her mother was seeing as the sheet covered body was removed from the back of the ambulance. Her teeth grazed her thumb as her mother let out a yelp of pain. She turned her head and saw the despair in her mother's eyes.

"No! Booth!" She screamed, running toward the ambulance, the man behind her mother, grabbed her around the waist. She jerked forward and almost lost her grip of Grace. "Booth!" She screamed against the bonds of the man holding her back. "Let me go!" She screamed at the officer, shoving an elbow toward his rib, his flak jacket protected him against the assault, and she kicked her foot back. Her heel landed squarely in his shin, causing him to falter. He released his grip of her and sent her nearly tumbling, and she ran across the pavement toward the gurney.

Several EMTs tried to stop her, several tried to stand in her way, but none were successful in blocking her goal of that gurney. She needed to see for herself the person beneath that sheet, to prove to herself that there was still hope.

"Doctor Brennan, I'm sorry." She heard whispered, as her hand clasped the sheet. If Temperance had a moment of clarity, she'd have thought of the effect that pulling that sheet would have on the child in her arms. If she had a moment to think, she'd have handed her off to hands that were not trembling, or someone who could take a deep breath unencumbered by the lump in their throat. Instead, she selfishly ripped the sheet from the head of the victim on the gurney, and gasped when she saw the face of her husband beneath.

The breath that she had saved for relief had suddenly been ripped from her as she stared down at the lifeless body before her. The plane crash had served no such luxury as the proof before her, and unlike that day there was no explosion to punctuate the pain she was feeling at the realization of the truth.

"Daddy?" The girl in her arm whimpered. She wasn't questioning his identity, but reality itself.

And for Temperance, an eerie calm washed over her, as she leaned down to kiss her fallen husband. The only words she could whisper were heard by only she, and the wind.


	39. Swallowed By The Chaos

Her body was shaking, but she had no sense of being. She couldn't hear her teeth chattering, or feel her hands trembling while she held her daughter in her arms. Sounds weren't sounds, and numbness lifted from her toes and warmed her body quickly. Her lips had touched his, and they were not yet cold. His eyes were closed, and there was an air of peacefulness that filled his features. His skin was warm to the touch, but pale and ashen.

The EMTs around her were speaking, but their words meant nothing, and if she were in any state of sound mind, she'd suggest that perhaps she was suffering from a stroke. Pain ripped through her brain and her chest, and slowly, or so it seemed, an intense pressure of something raw and untouched was rising from within her soul.

She didn't know what possessed her, or what her body was doing, but the calmness was quickly replaced with unadulterated rage. The manifestation of this anger only took a second, but contained so much of what she had carefully pushed deep down in her soul. It contained anger so deep, and so hidden, that the darkness that rushed through her made her blood hot. She looked down at the cooling body of her husband, the man that had laid his life down once again for his family, and placed her free hand on his face. She couldn't feel the tight hold of her daughter any longer, or the EMTs tugging at her to move from the gurney. She couldn't feel anything but the rising anger that pulsed through her veins.

Temperance's body vibrated with that passionate anger, and seconds passed as she curled her fingers on his face, leaning down to kiss him again. She wanted it all to be a dream, she needed it all to be a dream, and begged that when she pulled her lips from his, that his eyes would be open. She pulled from his face, and no such thing happened. He was just as still as the moment she had placed her lips on him. "I'm sorry." She whimpered, unsure of what she was sorry for, she couldn't find any other words that could express the broken numbness that filled her being.

Grace was silent, her eyes staring down at the still figure of her father; she could feel the anger rushing through her mother's body. She could feel her trembling. What felt like eons to Temperance was a few small seconds, and in her imagination she felt that this was the way the rest of her life would be now that he was gone. Everything would move in slow motion until it simply stopped.

Her eyes closed for a moment, as the rage and passion contained in her body took control, and it was as if something had possessed her suddenly. Her free hand bunched into a white knuckled fist, and her teeth ground together. She had no breath left, though she was veiled in an absolute calm that was almost ghostly.

Suddenly, a sound left her body that could only be described as primal. The words she screamed didn't matter, it was the sudden blows to her husband's chest with her closed fist that had caught everyone off guard. "You can't leave me!" She screamed. "You can't! I won't let them take you! No! No!" She screamed as she pummeled him again and again, slamming her fist squarely into his chest.

Suddenly two of the EMTs grabbed her, pulling her from the body, she lunged forward and made contact one more time with the complete force of her body before she began to completely crumble. "He can't die! He can't! I need him!" She screamed between gnashed teeth. "He can't die!" She screamed.

In the scramble to pull her from the body, they heard a gasp of air and a strangled sound that erupted from the hysterical screams. They turned to see a pair of wide brown eyes staring at them, and his body jerking as he fought against the tube in his throat.

Expletives were thrown from the EMTs as they released Temperance and ran to the gurney. Booth's eyes focused on hers as he struggled to breathe.

"Booth!" Temperance screamed. "Booth!" , but the gurney was pushed away quickly toward the emergency doors. She wanted to scream that she loved him, that she needed him. She wanted to scream that she was sorry, she simply wanted to be with him, and all of that was pushed away through the doors of the hospital. She found herself without breath or strength. Suddenly, her daughter felt heavy in her arms, and Temperance felt the weight of exhaustion and drop in adrenaline drilling into her with intense force. She felt sick and broken, a crushing weight on her chest.

Grace gripped her mother tightly, calling for her again and again with no response. Temperance stumbled and drifted as she felt an arm try to loop hers. Indignant pride prevailed, and the touch of another person was the last thing she wanted. She needed her husband, she needed him. She stumbled away from the hands reaching for her and let out a pain filled yelp as she lost her footing. She was jarred by the scream of her daughter, and instinctively turned to protect her from the fall. Her arms wrapped protectively around Grace as gravity pulled her toward the pavement. The impact was sharp, and the blackness was inviting, as she was suddenly swallowed by the chaos.


	40. Saving Grace

Grace screamed loudly at her mother's pale expression, and the blank stare frightened her. There was no response as she slammed her hands into her mother's shoulders, sobbing with trembling fear. Her father was now gone, and her mother was unresponsive. "Mama, please! Mama!" She screamed. "Please!" She sobbed. There was a glimmer of recognition, and then nothing. Her mother's arms wrapped around her suddenly, as she felt the ground beneath them disappear. Temperance teetered, and her eyes rolled back, as Grace held tightly to her mother as she screamed.

They hit the ground hard, though cushioned slightly by the weight of someone grabbing hold of her mother before they landed completely on the pavement. She felt hands grasping for her, but refused to let go of her mother's jacket. "No!" She screamed, lashing out at those trying to help her, she shook her mother and begged her to wake up. "Mama! Mama, please wake up! Please!" She screamed.

Temperance was limp beneath the girl, her body having given in to the exhaustion that had battered her since her daughter had gone missing. She was unmoving. Everything seemed to come crashing down around the tiny girl as she begged her mother to wake up. Hands pulled at hers, and an arm encircled her waist. "No! No! Mama! Mama!" She screamed as she was disentangled from her mother's clothes and held against her will again. She screamed to her mother to wake up as she watched them lift her effortlessly onto a gurney. "Please! Please! Please don't take my Mama!" She sobbed, breathing deeply again and again as she suddenly started to convulse in the arms of the EMT holding her. Her eyes rolled back and she could feel her body tensing

"She's having a seizure!" The EMT called, "Get me another gurney!" She screamed, as the chaos quickly swelled to the next level.

* * *

When Temperance opened her eyes, it was to the blurry image of a nurse flashing a bright light in her eyes. "Well, there we go." The nurse said, his voice was soft and soothing. She flinched at the touch and closed her eyes, pulling her face away. The nurse sat back, and allowed her to get her bearings. "We had to sedate you." He said softly.

Her eyes focused on the nurse, and raised her hand to her eyes, rubbing them with her hands, she suddenly gasped. "My daughter." She said, her voice cracking. The sudden panic in her chest was painful, and she felt incredibly dizzy all of a sudden. "My baby." She whimpered.

"She's in the children's ward." A man's voice interrupted, and she turned her head to see the SWAT officer from the ambulance. "Your father is there with her."

"My father?" She asked, turning her head to the nurse. "How long have I been…"

"Knocked out?" He asked. "Nearly two hours, ma'am." He said softly.

"Two hours?" She said, tugging at the IV on her arm, she was feeling nauseas, and wobbly, and the two men had to put their hands out to stop her from falling off the bed.

"Whoa, Doctor Brennan." The young officer said, holding his hand out to her, she glared at him.

"I need to see my daughter. I need to find my husband." She said, pushing their hands away. "I am not an invalid."

"No, you're not, but you need to slow down." The officer said, watching the nurse take a step back.

"There isn't time to slow down." She said, sucking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she attempted to fend off the sick feeling in her stomach. She put her hand to her face for a moment. "Grace fell with me." She said, pulling her hand from her forehead, she looked into the man's eyes. "And Booth…" She said, swallowing hard, the despair was in her eyes immediately. "Is he…"

"He's still in surgery." The officer whispered. "He's still alive." The man stated, putting his hand on her shoulder. "You saved him, Doctor Brennan. You didn't give up on him, you saved him." His eyes held hers steadily. "Grace was alright when you landed, she was uninjured, but she suffered a seizure when we pulled her from you."

"Oh God." Temperance whispered. "I need to go see her." She said, attempting to pull the IV out, the nurse stepped forward and put his hand on her arm.

"Just a second." He said, understanding her distress. "We're going to need your daughter's full medical history, and a list of any medications she's on. You were very dehydrated when you passed out, Doctor Brennan, they needed to give you fluids, and with your level of distress, it was the doctor's decision to sedate you." The nurse explained as he disconnected the IV. He turned toward the door and the officer had already grabbed the wheelchair in the room. "Are you alright?" He asked, noting the blank stare on her face.

Temperance felt helpless, and unwilling to fight the two men. She was at the mercy of their care, for if she gave herself the opportunity to think, or feel anything at this point, she would break down completely. "Please just take me to my baby." She whispered, allowing the two men to help her into the wheelchair, they proceeded to walk together behind the wheelchair, and walked quietly with Temperance from her room, to her daughter.

* * *

When the door opened to the hospital room, Max looked up from his spot beside the bed, and his eyes lit up. He stood immediately and approached the wheelchair. "Honey." He said, his tone was loving, but the over sympathetic tone made her cringe. Temperance made no sound to her father, and barely even acknowledged his presence as she pulled herself from the wheelchair. She heard the nurse behind her protest just slightly, but her eyes were on the tiny girl in the bed.

Slowly, she made her way to the bed, her little girl looked so small against the expansive mattress, her eyes were closed, and she slept peacefully. "Is she sedated?" Temperance asked.

"No." The nurse shook his head. "She's just resting."

Temperance stepped up to the bed slowly, watching her daughter sleep for a moment, she felt someone standing beside her. She felt her father's arm on her shoulder. "Tempe, she's okay now."

"Did they examine her?" She whispered.

"Yes, no sign of injury from the ordeal… some bumps and bruises, but other than that, she's perfectly well."

"Seeley?" She whispered, glancing to her father. "Where is Seeley?"

"He's in the children's ward also… social services have taken his case. He is well, they want him to stay for observation." Max whispered. "I've talked to Angela, she knows what's going on. Parker and Antonia are very well taken care of." He whispered, watching his daughter nod. "Booth is… still in surgery." He said, looking the nurse, who nodded his head. "Jared is…"

"I don't care." She said, her chin trembling as her lip shook. Her eyes narrowed with a cold, pure anger. "I don't care if he lives or dies." She growled.

Max knew not to say another word.

"I'd like some time alone with my daughter, please." She said, looking to the three men in the room. She watched as each of their heads bobbed in agreement. "Thank you." She said. Max reached for his daughter's hand, but she moved toward the bed instead. "I'll be fine, Dad." She whispered without looking at him, knowing that what she said, and what she felt was the complete opposite.

Once the door closed behind them, Temperance moved ever closer to the bed, and crouched slightly. She carefully brushed her fingers over her daughter's forehead, moving a stray hair. Her long eyelashes fluttered, and her blue eyes stared blankly at her mother for a moment. "There is my Gracie K." Temperance whispered.

Grace blinked once, twice. "Mama?" She whispered.

"That's me." She whispered.

Grace lunged herself at her mother suddenly, her tiny arms wrapping tightly around her, burying her head in her mother's neck. "Mama!" She exclaimed, bursting into tears as soon as she felt her mother's embrace. Temperance could hold back no longer, and pulled herself onto the small bed to hold her daughter in her arms, and there would be nobody that could separate Temperance's tears from her baby girl's, nobody.


	41. Promises, Promises

Mother and daughter clung to one another and cried until Grace's sobs turned to hiccups, and Temperance was able to calm herself enough to simply hold her baby in her arms. She knew that there was nothing that she could personally do to help Booth right now, so she put all of her attention on their child.

Grace hiccupped against her mother, sniffling as she gripped her mother's shirt, breathing in her familiar scent, trying desperately to wipe her mind and memory of the sights and sounds of earlier. She felt her mother's hand in her hair, and sighed softly.

"Mommy is here." Temperance whispered, letting a tear drop into her daughter's hair as she held her. "Mommy isn't going anywhere." She whispered, holding her daughter close.

The door opened to the room, and she refused to look up, instead just simply held Grace tightly.

"Tempe?" Max's voice sounded grim, and she didn't want to hear what he had to say. She simply whispered to her daughter again and again. The tone in his voice was almost too much for her to hear. "Tempe, sweetheart?" Max said again. His voice was still monotone as he took a step closer to the bed. "Sweetheart, please?"

"I don't want to hear what you have to say, Dad." She replied, sniffling against her daughter. "I can't handle much more. I just want to hold my baby."

"Temperance." Max replied.

"Don't push me, Dad." She growled. Her body was trembling again, that rage from earlier was threatening to rear its ugly head again.

"I'm here, Mommy." Grace whispered, knowing how the sentiment her mother had been whispering was putting her at ease, she wanted her mother to calm down. She rolled slightly and looked up into her mother's eyes, and she could see the darkness in their blue depths. "I'm right here with you, mommy." She smiled. Her voice was tiny, and soft, pure.

"Temperance, they're taking Seeley."

She turned her head quickly toward her father. "Who is taking Seeley?"

"Child Protective Services. He's going into their custody until…"

"No he isn't." She said, pulling her legs from the bed, she kissed her daughter's forehead.

"Mama…" Grace whimpered.

"Mommy has something to take care of, baby girl. She will be right back." Temperance said, watching her daughter's lip protrude just a bit, her chin trembling. "I promise I will be right back." She whispered.

"Mama, please don't leave me." Grace whimpered, reaching out her hand to her mother, a tear escaped her eye. "Please."

"Tempe, Jared already signed him over to protective services." Max replied.

"Well then, he's going to have to un-sign those documents." She said, standing strong suddenly. Her eyes were blazing with anger.

"Tempe, you're exhausted. You can't take in another child, you can't protect everyone. Stay here, stay here with Grace. Child Protective Services will find him a place to stay, with people who will take good care of him." Max argued.

Temperance took a step toward her father, lowering her voice to a low whisper as not to upset Grace. "Is that what you thought when you left me and Russ, Dad? You thought that I'd be taken care of? That the system would put me in a home with people who will love, and care for me?" She whispered. "Let me tell you something about your beloved 'system', Dad. It's broken."

"Tempe." Max said, trying to calm her, but she would have none of that.

"Sure, there are families out there. There are plenty of foster families that will take him in, and care for him… give him food, water, a warm place to sleep… but in my home, Dad. In my home, he'll be loved on top of all of the rest." She growled. "I am going to talk to Jared. He will not get away with this."

"Tempe, you're not in your right mind." Max argued. "You're in distress, you're acting hysterical."

"I swear Dad, if my child wasn't lying in that bed right there…" She growled, letting her set jaw and angry expression speak the rest of the threat to him. "I need to go talk to Jared."

"Mama!" Grace exclaimed. "Please, no! Please don't go!" Grace exclaimed, her voice growling as she breathed heavily, whimpering at her mother.

Temperance stepped from her father and looked to her daughter, her begging was breaking her heart. "Baby girl." Temperance said, crouching down. Grace rolled to her side and reached for her mother's hand. She gripped it tightly, still begging her not to leave her. "What are you afraid of?" She whispered, watching the little girl's tears stream down her face.

"Please don't go." She whispered, ignoring her mother's question.

"Are you scared that Mommy won't come back?"

"Yes." She nodded, sniffling. Her breathing was slowly coming back to normal again. "Please don't go."

"But what about Seeley, baby? He's all alone."

"No." She shook her head. "No, he has his daddy… I want my daddy… I want you…" She whimpered. "Please, Mommy."

Temperance knew there was no negotiating with Grace about this, she was set on keeping Temperance in that room. "Do you want me to go find your daddy?" She whispered. "He's in the hospital somewhere. I won't even leave the building."

"Is he hiding?" Grace whispered.

"Kind of." She nodded. "He's playing hide and seek. Do you want me to go look for him?"

"Uh huh." She nodded, though the sadness in her eyes was telling.

"And you'll stay right here in this bed, and let Oompa take care of you?"

She sniffled, and stared at her mother for a moment. She judged the sincerity in her eyes and tentatively nodded.

"I promise that I won't even leave the hospital… and if you need me, you tell Oompa, and he'll find a nurse to look for me, okay?"

"Okay." She whimpered, her voice so very small, it pierced Temperance's heart.

"I love you more than the moon and stars, baby girl." She whispered, leaning up to kiss her daughter on the forehead. "I'll always come for you."

"I love you more than the everything." Grace said, a sad smile on her lips as she watched her mother take a step back.

Temperance looked to Max and though she so badly wanted to tell him to stay there with Grace, just to maintain that momentum, she could see that he already understood. She then turned on her heel and stalked from the room, in search of Jared Booth.

* * *

It didn't take but a minute for her to get the information for Jared's room, but instead of making her way there, she instead turned down the hallway toward Seeley's room. She stopped outside of the room and took a moment to collect herself before stepping inside. The first thing she saw as she stepped into the room was the nurse sitting near the bed, and the small boy lying under the covers was crying softly, refusing to talk to her.

"Seeley." Temperance whispered.

The nurse looked up and glanced to her, her eyes showing a deep sorrow. "Can I help you?"

"Seeley is my nephew." She said, her voice was whispery and soft. "I'm Doctor Temperance Brennan-Booth." She said, holding out her hand. "I was with the SWAT team that brought him in, my daughter was there too."

"Bones!" Seeley said, a smile brightening his face, as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. The nurse looked to the boy, and noticed that it was the first ray of sunshine that she had seen since she had walked into his room, so she nodded her head in permission for Temperance to come inside. "Bones." He said again, though his voice was more somber.

"Hey buddy." Temperance said, walking slowly toward the bed, the nurse smiled and excused herself. Temperance sat beside the bed in the chair that the nurse had vacated, and took his hand in hers. "I missed you." She whispered.

"I missed you." He said, his lower lip trembling, he sat up and reached for her. Temperance leaned forward and gathered him onto her arms. "Oh, Seeley." She whispered.

"They want to take me away." He whimpered into her shoulder.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that doesn't happen, baby." She whispered.

"I want to go home with you." He said, catching the sob in his throat as he tried to remain calm. "I want to go home with you."

"After all of this craziness, and you still want to go home with me?" She asked, trying to keep her voice playful.

"You smell pretty, Bones. Just like mommy did. Your house is warm, and you give me hugs, and Uncle Seeley took me to see the dinosaurs. I don't want to go away. I want to stay with you forever, and ever." He said as he started to cry in her arms.

She rocked him gently and kissed his head. "I don't want you to go away either, baby. I love you."

"I love you." He whispered. "Please don't make me go."

Temperance stayed with Seeley for a while longer, until he fell asleep in her arms. She rocked him gently against her, allowing him to relax completely. When she was sure he was sleeping, she lifted him back to the bed, and carefully covered him with the blanket. She kissed his brow, and gently brushed his messy hair from his forehead. "I promise you, baby. I'm going to make sure that you have a home that you deserve." She said, kissing his forehead again before she turned and made her way for the door, intent on making good on her promise.


	42. Man Up

Jared's eyes were closed, his focus was on the pain in his abdomen, on the guilt and hatred that he had for himself. He tried to rest, tried to block out the sounds and sights from the hell that he had been pulled from. He was alone, handcuffed to the bed. He was a prisoner, and knew that for all he had done, he simply deserved to be nothing but that.

He heard the door open, and close again, and refused to open his eyes. He expected it to be a doctor or nurse coming in to check on him. Perhaps it was a police officer coming to question him before they moved him off to jail where he belonged. He waited to be woken, or prodded by the nurse, and nothing came. He had heard someone walk slowly across the floor, and then the door opened again.

He opened his eyes to see the guard from outside of his room walking in with a wheelchair, and turned his head slightly to see Temperance standing in the room, eyeing the wheelchair. "Tempe?" He croaked.

"Right there." She said, nodding to the wheelchair. "I've seen his chart, he can make it that far." She said softly. She knew that besides the obvious scrapes and cuts on Jared, the most severe injury that he was suffering from was bruising to his abdomen, and three broken ribs. She had gotten permission from his doctor for a little excursion, and already discussed the situation with the guard, who had agreed to help.

"Tempe, what are you doing?" Jared asked.

The guard stepped up to the bed rail and unhooked Jared's handcuff. He stood on Jared's side, and glanced to Temperance. She nodded her head and pulled at Jared's leg, tipping it from the side of the bed. She grabbed the saline bag from the hook above the bed. "Tempe, what are you doing? Where are you taking me?" Jared asked, feeling her arm hook his as she yanked on it, pulling him from the bed. "Tempe, answer me!" He asked.

The guard helped pull him toward the wheelchair, glancing to Temperance again, she nodded as they put him in it, and Temperance shoved him back hard with the palm of her hand. He grimaced at the pain, letting out a pain filled grunt as she snaked the belt around him. The guard snapped the handcuff to the wheelchair handle, and glanced to Temperance. She grabbed the strap on the belt across his lap and pulled it with a sharp yank that caused Jared to yelp in pain. "That'll do." She growled as she put the saline bag on the hanging bar above Jared's head, she leaned down as Jared tried to look at her, and she put her lips right next to his ear. "We're going for a little bit of a ride." She growled into his ear.

She pushed the wheelchair toward the door, and the guard reached out and grabbed the handle. Temperance nodded to him and he flashed her a bit of a smile. She pushed Jared out into the hallway, and noted that he was trying to look up at her. She kept her eyes straight ahead as she marched down the hallway, and when he looked away for a moment, she leaned down close to his ear again. "Your brother died today." She said, her voice was cold and emotionless, and she could literally see the jaw clench on the man sitting in the wheelchair. "Your brother died, saving your life." She whispered. "Your brother died saving his child's life… Your brother died saving your child's life." Her whisper was hot against his face, and she could see that his face was flushed.

"Have you seen your son?" She asked, her voice louder. They stopped at the elevators, and she jabbed the button with her finger. She turned around and faced him now. Her blue eyes were a deep cerulean, her jaw square and set. Her stare was icy, her eyes narrowed. "I'm talking to you!" She snapped, kicking the wheelchair, she watched him jump.

"No!" He snapped. "No! I haven't seen him!"

Temperance said nothing. She simply nodded her head and walked around the chair. The doors opened, and she pushed him into the elevator as far as it would go, ensuring that his foot made contact with the opposite wall. "Well, I'm about to give you an opportunity." She growled, glancing to the guard, he nodded and pressed the button for the pediatric wing.

"No." Jared said, shaking his head. "No, Tempe. I can't." He said as he tried to look up at her, but her attention was on the wall in front of them. "Tempe, please…" He begged. "Tempe, no… I don't want him to see me like this. Please. Please, Temperance!"

She said nothing as the elevator doors opened, and pulled at the wheelchair as soon as the doors opened. "Shut up, you'll scare the children." She growled in his ear.

Temperance could hear him begging her in a whisper, begging her to not do this, to preserve his son's memory of him, to save his son from having to see his father handcuffed to a wheelchair. He was begging her to stop, but she continued on silently. She reached a door at the end of the hallway and paused, glancing to the guard, he tipped his head toward the door, and she shook her head. He nodded and stepped back, as Temperance moved to Jared's side.

"Please, Tempe… please don't do this to him… please… he's just a little boy." Jared begged, tears streaming down his face. He was jolted when she grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and stood face to face with Jared.

"You're not trying to preserve his memory of you. You're trying to save yourself the embarrassment of letting your son see you handcuffed to a wheelchair like the criminal that you are. You think that Seeley seeing you under lock and key is worse than watching you drive around inebriated to the point of delirium? You really want him to remember that when he thinks of you, Jared? Really? The way that you just dropped him off and left him in a car… alone… in a strange place? You want him to remember how scared he was when he woke up and found these people he had never met staring in at him, frightening him beyond all comprehension?"

"Tempe, stop." Jared said, shaking his head.

"You want him to remember seeing his uncle lying on the floor, bleeding out in front of him? Jared? Do you?"

"Tempe…" He whimpered.

"You want him to remember the way that you abandoned him in a hospital when you went to prison? You want him to remember being taken away from not just his father… but from a family that had taken him in, a family that loves him and is willing to care for him for the rest of his life? Jared?"

"Stop! Stop it!" Jared exclaimed, shaking his head, he sobbed as he sit in the wheelchair, trying to control his breathing.

"I will not stop it." She said, her voice was deeper and more grating. "You are going to go into that room, and you are going to tell your son what his fate is. Do you understand me? You are going to look into his eyes, and you are going to be a man for once in your pathetic life."

"Temperance." He begged.

"And when you're done in there… you're going to call up Child Protective Services, and you're going to release him into my custody. Do you understand, Jared?" She didn't even wait for him to respond. "Do you understand that, Jared!" She exclaimed, watching him jump at the passion in her voice. "You're his father…. And even if that's the only reason that he has right now to love you… it's his reason." She said as she looked up to see a nurse hovering just down the hallway. The nurse beckoned her and she nodded. "I have something to take care of. Frank, can you make sure…?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The guard nodded.

Temperance stalked toward the nurse quickly, turning her to walk down the hallway. She was quickly losing her adrenaline rush, and she needed an arm to stabilize her for a moment. "Doctor Brennan, your husband is out of surgery," she said softly. Temperance felt as if all of her energy drained from her body at that single comment. "He's stable, and if you'd like, you can see him in recovery." She said, noting the teeter in Temperance's step. But with a deep breath, the color seemed to flush back into the other woman's face, and after a moment to close her eyes, she nodded.

"I'd like to see him, please." Temperance whispered, still trying to take in stride the rollercoaster ride that she felt she had just been thrown from.


	43. Clear Mind, Broken Heart

Temperance walked with the nurse toward the recovery room, listening to the list of procedures that Booth had undergone. She was reminded several times that his condition was contingent upon him waking from anesthesia, and that his minutes without oxygen to his brain could have caused significant damage. Temperance was aware of the possibilities. She was familiar with the unknown, and its consequences. She knew all too well the frailty of the human condition, and was quietly preparing herself for her first glimpse of her husband.

She thanked the nurse as she stopped with Temperance outside the door. The nurse looked to her and could see the sorrow in her eyes. "You can go inside whenever you're ready." She whispered, nodding as she left Temperance standing beside the door, staring off after her for a moment.

Temperance turned and touched the handle on the door, her hand was trembling. She pulled her hand off the handle and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and stepped backwards, leaning her back against the wall. Both of her hands lifted to her face, and the pain in her head was making her dizzy. She could still smell Booth's blood on her hands, taste it in the back of her mouth. She could still feel the warmth of his skin beneath her lips, and that honest and pure expression in his eyes just before they stepped out of the SUV. She could feel herself crumbling, her knees wobbling beneath her weight as a sob escaped her lips. Her body slid down the wall, her face buried in her hands as she let everything that she had been holding on her shoulders simply crash down around her.

Her tears were filled with fear, with relief, with sadness, anger, regret, and guilt. She felt so alone sitting on the floor of that hospital, regardless of the people who walked down the hallway past her. Several people asked if she was okay, and each one was ignored, and left her to her self-imposed piteous display. Her sobs were cathartic, and the release of all that was being so carefully stored away within her heart and soul cleansed her mind. Her sobs eventually quelled, as logic began to creep slowly back into her thoughts. She took several cleansing breaths and continued to stare at the floor while she attempted to focus.

"Doc."

Temperance looked up at the familiar voice, and stumbled to stand, thoroughly embarrassed about her loss of control. "Whoa, whoa…" Harding said with an outstretched hand. "Don't get up on my account." He said, waving to his partner.

"I… I was just taking a break for a minute, trying to clear… clear my mind." She said, looking down at Harding. He looked almost comfortable in his wheelchair. His leg was elevated and stretched out, a cast above his knee kept it immobilized.

"Don't make excuses, Doc. Anyone else that had gone through what you have gone through in the past three days would be in a catatonic state by now." He said, reaching for her hand. She accepted the gesture, happy to be talking to someone that she knew was feeling pain on a similar level as she, she accepted his support. She crouched beside his wheelchair, and looked into his eyes. "They briefed me on what happened… Booth, and Grace, Seeley… that you found Jared… Arrested three, one casualty."

"Yes." Temperance whispered. "How did you find me?" She asked.

"I asked them to tell me when he was in recovery." Harding said, giving her hand a little squeeze. "You're not doing so well, are you?"

She paused for a moment before she whispered weakly. "No." She shook her head for simple emphasis, but more because she wasn't even sure she had said the word out loud. "He died, Christopher." She whispered. "He was dead when they got him here. I don't know for how long, a second, a minute." She managed to get out, before taking a deep breath. "They don't even know if he'll wake up."

Harding nodded his head. He knew that there was nothing that he could say to console her, to ease her mind. "He's alive now." Harding whispered. "He's alive, he's breathing on his own… he survived surgery."

"They were forced to excise his kidney." She said softly. "It was perforated in the attack."

"Grace? How is she?"

"She's afraid. She saw Booth… dead on the gurney, she saw the blood… she saw…" Temperance paused. "Everything." She said, staring at her fingertips. "She can't unsee what she saw, Christopher. She can't forget that. I certainly can't. I can still feel his blood on my hands. I can still hear his voice, calling for me to help him, Gracie's screams. I can't get it out of my head. Seeley wasn't in the room, but he saw everything too." She whispered. "I wish I could just… I wish that I could forget it, but I can't."

Harding shook his head and squeezed her hand slightly. "Never thought I'd see this day."

"What?"

"You… wishing things…" Harding smiled wryly. She lifted her eyes to his and narrowed them at her partner. He felt guilty when he saw her expression, but watched as it softened slightly. Her eyes warmed on his and she shook her head just slightly. "It's a good thing, Doc."

"How are you doing?" She asked. If he was out and about in the hospital, it was clear that he must be feeling better. He still had a bandage on his head, and the cast was a reminder of the crash, but his eyes were bright and hopeful.

"I'm hanging in there. You know, they have some really good pain medication here at the hospital." He smiled, accepting her head shake as a reward for his humor. "Are you going to go in and see him?" Harding asked softly.

"Yes." She nodded. "I just needed to… get all of the rest off my shoulders before I did. I need a clear mind. I need to focus on just Booth for a little while."

"Is there anything that you need for me to do?" Harding asked, his hand still holding hers tightly.

"Pray for us?" She whispered.

His gentle head nod was all she needed, and she stood carefully and leaned toward him. Tenderly, she dropped a kiss on his cheek. "Thank you." She whispered. She then turned toward the room and touched the handle. There was no tremble in her hand as she twisted the handle, and with a grateful nod toward her partner, she stepped into the room.


	44. Something Is Lost

Temperance was through with being shocked by Booth's physical condition when she walked into a hospital room. She was through with that sick feeling that rises in your stomach when you see your loved one hooked to wires, tubes and monitors. She was through with the sounds of the monitors, the shrill beeping that indicated that her husband was indeed breathing, and that his heart was indeed still beating. She thought she'd be more anxious when she stepped into the room. She thought she'd be broken when she saw her husband's motionless body on the bed.

But the moment Temperance saw her husband's face she felt an odd calm whisk its way over her being. Her logical mind reminded her that it was he that was breathing on his own, it was his heart that was beating on its own, it was his will and strength that was pulling him through this. She'd like to say that he was the strongest person she had ever met, but knew in her heart that he was the strongest man, still alive. He was her strength on her weakest days.

Her pause by the door was not apprehension, but a moment of peace. It was a moment of forcing the reality that had been thrust upon her to stop on her terms for the first time in what seemed to be forever. She found that she was holding her breath, her eyes on his chest to watch its simple rise and fall. Her mouth was suddenly very dry, and her tongue was stuck in the back of her throat, as she swallowed hard.

She had changed a lot since she was last in this situation, and could remember the tenderness of her husband on the days that she had spent in the hospital with both her injury before Grace was born and the hospital stay for Grace's birth. He had been frantic, pushy, over protective. It had been a mad dash to recuperation for him, because she knew that he was in pain when she hurt. He had cared for the children, put out the fiery tantrums of their oldest daughter, and tamed the frustrated pre-adolescent angst of her stepson. He had done all of this with nary a complaint. He had done all of this on his own free will, and expected nothing but love in return. He would be a martyr if she'd let him, but Temperance knew that he had far too much to live for. He had far too much to fight for.

She said nothing as she stood over him, her eyes never gracing the comfort of the chair in the room. She thought it ironic that something so uncomfortable could be a tool to embrace a grieving or sorrowful person visiting a loved one. She'd rather stand forever by his side then take a rest right now. Her eyes flicked to the door, and back to her husband, and still her mind was so full of things to tell him, that the words seemed to melt into a pile of ash in her mind. She could think of nothing that she knew of that could reach him in his place of rest at this moment. She could think of nothing that would be strong enough to pull him from his sleep. So she reached for his hand, resting her palm on his palm. She wrapped her fingers around his hand. Carefully, she put pressure on his hand, gently squeezing his cool palm in her warm hand. And for the first time since she had met him, there was no gentle squeeze back.

* * *

Grace had rolled to her side, facing away from her grandfather as he read the book that he had brought with him. He looked up to see her restlessly roll onto her back. She looked to Max and furrowed her brow. "I want to go home." She whimpered.

"The doctor wanted you to stay overnight. He said you had a pretty big bump on your head, and he wants to make sure you're okay." Max explained. His reasons were met with a scowl, and a huff from the little girl.

"Where is Mommy?" She asked in a tiny voice, her eyes moving to the door and back to Max. "I'm hungry… I want to go home. I want to see Nee. I want to see Parker… where is daddy?" She asked in rapid succession. Her voice was becoming higher and more distressed. "I want Mommy." She said, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Where is Daddy?"

Max was at a loss on what to tell the little girl. A tear rolled down her cheek and she whimpered. "Mommy is looking for him, baby." Max whispered.

"I want Mommy." She whimpered. "I need Mommy. Please? Please, Oompa." She said as she began to cry harder. She rolled over and grabbed her pillow, pulling it against her tightly, she began to sob.

* * *

Temperance continued to stand over his bed for several moments. Her eyes closed tightly as she silently recalled Booth's strength and her own strength during some of the most difficult days of her life. At moments like this, she always recalled the cruelest day of their lives. She could see the fire and feel the heat of the plane exploding. She could feel the sorrow in her heart. She could sense the heaviness of the walls closing in around her, and smell the gasoline in the air.

Her body shivered, and her stomach twisted, and her eyes opened to two dark eyes staring back at her. She almost lost it right there, but couldn't breathe to even do that. "Booth?" She whispered.

His expression was blank, expressionless. Temperance was unsure if he was even awake, but for the fact that he was looking directly into her eyes. "Booth, it's me…" She whispered. "Can you see me?"

He still didn't answer, but his brow furrowed as if he were in pain.

"Booth, please." She whispered. "Please, say something to me…" She begged, squeezing his hand lightly, she waited for some kind of response, anything. "Please."

He sucked in a slow, deep breath, his brow still furrowed in confusion as he stared into her eyes. When he breathed out it was one of either relief or frustration. He moved his lips, making a slight whispering sound, and she moved her ear to his lips. "Say it again." She whispered. "I'm listening."

"Toni?" He whispered.

Temperance pulled her head up and looked him in the eyes. "Toni, what about Antonia?" She whispered. She watched a tear roll down his face, and could feel her body start to numb. "Booth, it was Grace. Grace, not Antonia."

His eyes looked deeply into hers. "Grace?" He whispered.

The door opened to the room, and a nurse slowly stepped inside. "Doctor Brennan?"

Temperance continued to look at Booth. "Grace, Booth…"

He looked confused. "I don't…know…"

"Doctor Brennan?" The nurse said again.

"Just a moment." She said, rushed. "Booth, you know who I am, right?"

"Bones." He said, with a light in his eyes. "Bones, I'm so sorry." He whispered. "I'm so sorry." His voice sounded strangled, and she remembered that look from so long ago. She remembered the strain in his voice, the pain hidden in his eyes after he had rescued Antonia. She could see every shred of sorrow in his eyes. She knew the truth of what he had become since then, but she could see that the fullness of the life they had made was missing from his thoughts. A tear rolled down his cheek, and his tongue rolled over his lips. "I'm so sorry, Bones." He said, clenching his teeth as his eyes closed tightly.

"Doctor Brennan, your daughter is asking for you." The nurse said.

"Tell her that I will be right there." Temperance said without looking up.

"Go to Toni, Bones." Booth said sleepily. "It's okay. Please go to her." He whispered, letting his eyes slide closed, "Tell her that Deuce loves her. Tell her that Deuce loves her so much." He whispered, as he drifted off.

Temperance was without air for a moment, and the nurse's hand on her shoulder pulled her from her frightened realization. She looked up at the nurse and her eyes were filled with tears. "Doctor Brennan, your daughter needs you."

Temperance nodded wordlessly, unable to catch the breath that was missing from her lungs. She almost reached out and shook him. She almost begged him to wake up again. Instead, she looked to her husband for a moment and leaned down to kiss his peace filled face. "I love you." She whispered to him. She watched as his lips moved, a slight whisper escaping and she leaned her ear down to listen.

Deep beneath his rumbling breath, she heard his sleepy mantra.

_"Something is lost and must be found…"_

* * *

**_The end._**

**_Again, I ask that you don't focus on the above two words. This part of the story is complete, and the Saints series will be continued in a new story. I find that it is easier to break the saga up into separate stories. Another chapter will be posted to alert you of the information for the next story in the series. Any and all comments are appreciated. Thank you. _**

**_Love and Sid,_**

**_PJ._**


	45. Author's Note

**Hey Readers!**

**The Sixth installment of the Saint in the Shadows series is up!**

**Something Is Lost  will take us on a journey deeper into the recovery of our favorite duo and their family! :)**

**If you have any questions, feel free to send me a DM or tweet me at Gcatspjs**


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